Undone
by Emeraldeyess
Summary: After a series of horrific changes, Naminé Fair struggles to get back to her old way of life. Broken and lost, she finds relief by doing various drugs with the most notorious gang in Twilight Town. She's on the verge of death and doesn't give a damn. But HE does. And he's the only one who can break through the barriers she puts up.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey! This is my first time ever writing a story here on , so I'm very excited to see how this goes! I've read plenty of stories on this site, many of which inspired me to write my own :3 and why not write one for my favorite Kingdom Hearts pairing? Anyway, here is the first chapter of a story I like to call "Undone". It was inspired by the song "Undone" by Haley Reinhart, so i suggest you listen to it if you're interested! It's a great song!

I hope you enjoy my story! And don't be afraid to review it! I'd love some helpful criticism :D

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Chapter 1

"Damn it! This really can't be happening right now…" whined a slender, blue eyed, blonde haired girl by the name of Naminé Fair, "Why now? WHY?" She peered into her room carefully and looked over at her desk lamp, shining bright enough to temporarily blind her.

"Owww…!" She moaned, squinting her sapphire eyes in an attempt to regain her sight. Once she was able to see again, the terrifying white winged moth she was TRYING to avoid was fluttering in an awkward fashion towards her.

"AHHHHHHH! MOM!" She shrieked. She darted down the hallway while flopping her arms around her head to defend against the bug.

"What? What is it Naminé?" Her mother questioned, almost expecting it to be something as minor as her usually 'I-totally-just-heard-something-running-around-in-the-attic' complaint.

"There's a moth in my room and I need to get my clothes on and get ready for school and eat breakfast then WALK to school and th-"

"Naminé, it's ok. It's just a moth. I'll get it for you." her mother replied calmly, knowing very well that Naminé had a fear of moths and most insects.

She let out a sigh of relief and replied, "Thanks, mom. I just know that Kairi's going to be waiting for me and I don't want to make her late since she's always SO punctual and lays her clothes out the night before and she probably even…"

"Naminé! You're rambling! Just go get your clothes on and get out of here!" commanded her mother with a dead moth inside a napkin in one hand and pointing to the clock with the other. The clock read 7:32, which meant she had 8 minutes to be out the door on time.

_"No problem" _she thought. She redirected her body so it was facing the hallway, narrowed her eyes at her target, and sprinted into her room. In a matter of 6 minutes she was dressed, smelt like vanilla perfume, and had perfectly brushed golden blonde hair, reaching just past the bottom of her shoulder blades. Mentally congratulating herself, she grabbed her backpack, waved good-bye to her mom, and strutted out the door on time.

"Hey you're early! Well…I mean, on time…but you're usually late, so being on time is actually early for you…" said Naminé's auburn haired best friend, "And you look great! Nice outfit!" Naminé's style was simple and practical. Nothing too flashy, in fact it was quite the opposite. For example, her outfit today is a gray, skin tight v-neck that showed off her predominant hips; a pair of dark blue jeans that had a lighter shading towards the middle of her front and back thighs, and butt; her favorite hoodie that was black on the outside but gray on the inside; a pair of stylish shin-tall black boots; and to finish it off, her blue sapphire pendant necklace she wore every day.

"Thanks, but I'm wearing black, gray, black, gray, and…oh what a surprise! More Black!" Naminé joked sarcastically.

"Yeah wait a second… you're usually so much more colorful than this, are you going to a funeral or something?" Kairi joked, "Well you actually pull of that look quite well. You look like a cute, fashionable thug or something!"

"Why thank-you! Now give me all yo money bitch!" Naminé threatened in a deep (well, deep for her) gangster like tone. The girls laughed and continued their chat about clothes, boys, school, and after school plans on their 5 minute walk to school. They arrived at the high school on time, seeing the crowd of students from all grades shuffling in through the large, glass front doors. Usually you would see people chatting outside before school starts on warmer days, but it was late fall and winter was slowly rolling in. Naminé was slightly disappointed at this, since fall was her favorite season (along with summer). She loved painting different sceneries of the brightly colored leaves that contrasted the bright blue sky.

"Hey Blondie! Hey Ginger!" shouted the voice that belonged to their close friend Sora. He seemed to always be in a good mood. Maybe it was his ridiculously spiky brown hair.

"Hey Sora!" Kairi replied, practically beaming. Naminé chuckled at her enthusiasm, since she knew Kairi really liked the chocolate haired boy.

"You guys going to the football game tonight?" Sora asked with his usually eager smile.

"Of course! Let's make a day out of it and hang out together until the game starts, then we can all go to the game together. I'll invite Riku too." said Kairi. The group of three agreed that they would meet at the usuall spot after school, and all went their separate ways to their first classes.

Naminé was lucky enough to already have all the credits she needed to graduate. She could have graduated last year if she really wanted to, but she decided she'd rather graduate with all her friends. Plus, she liked spending her day in all her various art classes. Since she was so talented, her teacher even gave her a small section of the art room, dedicated to doing her work. It was like her own personal art studio, which made her feel like she was living out her dream rather than 'going to school'.

The day went by fast as it usually does for her. She managed to finally complete a painting she had been working on for a Christmas gift for her mom and dad. It was an oil painting of the Twilight Town clock tower. She was worried that she wouldn't finish in time, but to her surprise she finished a few weeks early. After deciding she would bring the painting on Monday, she neatly put away all her supplies in their designated drawers. She washed her hands and lathered them with her favorite tropical coconut scented lotion.

"I see you finished that painting Miss Fair. Looks AMAZING, as usual." complemented her art teacher, aka her mentor.

"Thank you! I was worried about having so much yellow and orange in this piece, I'm used painting the cool colors of the ocean. But all in all, I'm pretty satisfied with how this turned out." Naminé spoke as she studied her painting. She grabbed her backpack and threw in a few things. After hearing the final bell signaling the end of the school day, she slung it around her shoulder and headed for the door.

"Hey, Naminé?" The teacher spoke. Naminé was already a step out of the door frame when she turned around. "Nice job. I'm really proud of you."

Naminé was speechless. She managed to mutter out a "thank you so much!" but that's about all she could say. Getting a compliment like THAT, from the person you look up to most, that's just crazy! She was in a good mood before, but NOW, she was in great mood. Unfortunately, her other friends weren't so lucky. When she approached their usual spot outside the school, Sora was fuming and Kairi was sulking. A junior thought it would be funny to throw red jello all over Kairi's dress during lunch. Instead of apologizing he just laughed. HISTERICALLY. If it weren't for Riku, Sora would have punched the kid and gotten himself suspended. As weird as it may sound, Kairi had a spare dress she keeps in her locker for emergencies like this. It was definitely a 'Kairi thing' as Naminé liked to call it.

During the midst of Sora's venting session, Naminé began to zone out. She picked up on how protective Sora was over Kairi, and how Kairi admired everything about Sora. Her mind then drifted to thinking about how weird it would be if Kairi and Sora started dating.

"Yeah, so what do you think Naminé?" asked Sora. She looked up and brushed her bangs out of her face. For a second she tried to go through her memory and see if she could piece together what he had just said, but nothing came to mind.

"Wait…uhhh, sorry. I didn't hear you…what did you ask?" she said, feeling a bit guilty.

"You didn't hear any of that? Jeez…Well I was saying how my cousin Roxas goes to Twilight High, the school our football team is playing tonight, and he invited me to go to his house for a little pre-game party. I asked him if I could bring you guys and he said it was fine. Then after the party we can all head back here to watch the game. What do you think? Do you want to go? You guys got along great last time." said Sora with a wink at the end. Naminé giggled at this, remembering how her freshman year she had met Roxas at one of Sora's birthday parties. It was summer, and they were outside having a water balloon fight. Eventually, due to Naminé, the fight shifted from the yard, into the woods. This was because she had grown up playing in the woods with her older brother and his friends. She knew she'd have an advantage since she was amazing at running through the trees and bushes without tripping, and hiding undetected for long periods of time.

*FLASHBACK*

"Naminé where are you going?" Shouted Kairi after spotting Naminé running into the forest. Of course, she did what anyone else would do and ran after her. Shortly after Kairi got into the woods she reached a small stream. Right as she stepped over to get to the other side, Naminé popped out from behind a nearby tree and pelted her with a water balloon. Kairi was so surprised by the impact that it caused her to lose her balance and she fell into the stream.

"Naminé! I can't believe you!" Kairi shouted. Quickly seeking revenge she looked down to grab a water balloon, only to realize that they had all burst in the plastic bag she carried them in from the impact. Now all she had was a bag filled with bits of colored broken balloons, and water.

"Naminé you are SO dead!" She shouted even louder than last time. This attracted all the boys at the party to run over with their ammunition to try and catch the sneaky blonde, who had already made her escape deeper into the woods.

"She went that way!" yelled the soaking wet red-head. The boys all sprinted in the direction she was pointing, all carry bags of water balloons.

_"Ok, this is a good spot. I'll wait for somebody to get close and just go from there" _Thought Naminé panting quietly. She reached a spot that would be perfect to launch a surprise attack. She figured all the boys probably just ran through the woods in a straight line from where Kairi was sitting. As if on cue, they all approached sweaty and out of breath.

"Hey guys, she couldn't have ran farther than this without us seeing her by now, she's probably hiding." Said Sora, clueless of how close the culprit really was.

_"Bingo." _she thought, _"Now come on, look at that perfectly placed fallen over tree. She's obviously hiding behind there, you could EASILY ambush her." _It was then she felt a slight tap on her shoulder. She turned around as fast as possible, ready to peg whoever it was as hard as she could. But, before she could she saw a blonde, spiky haired kid smiling at her while holding her throwing arm to prevent her from hitting him. His eyes were sparkling blue, and he was probably about half a foot taller than her.

He leaned down to ear level and whispered, "I'm on your side. I think I know your plan, I'll help you. You can't escape this on your own; you're outnumbered by about 10 or 12." She looked him in the eye the whole time, looking for some sign of him lying. She didn't pick up on any. She knew she could use the help, and she also knew she could easily escape him if he decided to turn on her.

"Ok, fine. Just start pelting them right after I do. They should be looking for me behind that tree right about…" She looked out from her hiding spot over to where the boys thought she should be hiding, "now."And just as she had predicted again, one of the boys pointed at the fallen over tree with a devilish smile. All the boys slowly approached it. Riku and Sora kept talking as if they had no idea where she was to try and catch her off guard.

"Wow, they ARE dumb." The mysterious boy said under his breath. Naminé resisted the urge to laugh, since right now was a very crucial part of her mission. She did, however, nudge him in the stomach to catch his attention.

_"Damn…that was hard. He might have a six pack."_ She thought. He looked down at her, and she replied to this by nodding her head once in the direction of the boys. He nodded in response. She reached carefully into her bag of water balloons and held one in each hand, keeping the bag around her arm. Peering out from her hiding spot, she saw every guy quickly throw a water balloon over the fallen down tree.

"HA!" Sora shouted, "We…got….you…AWW MAN! She's not here guys." His face dropped with defeat. It was then when Naminé quickly threw both balloons with as much force as possible, one hitting Sora's head and the other hitting Riku's back.

"FUCK! YOU SNEAKY WHORE!" Sora yelled, his mouth agape with utter shock. All at once the boys struggled to reach for ammo while Roxas ran out and hit three or four more guys continuously.

"ROXAS YOU TRAITOR" declared Sora, while throwing a few shots of his own. Naminé mentally noted the name Roxas, and then continued pulling out balloons two at a time and pelting all the guys as hard as she could.

The fight continued as the newly formed tag team sprinting back to the house. Occasionally one of them would turn around and hit a few guys, but they tried to save the few balloons they had left. Soon enough the water balloons were gone, and after a few handshakes and congratulations everyone went inside to change into dry clothes.

"High five girl, I'd say we were pretty successful." said Roxas as he approached his new friend he had been curious to talk to. Naminé smiled and laughed, then gave him the high five he deserved.

"Yeah that was amazing! They didn't see it coming at all." she replied. The smile on her face was glowing, and she couldn't seem to wipe it away. Well, that is until she heard a voice from behind her call her name.

"Hey Naminé!" said Sora with a hint of mischief.

"WHAT?" She snapped, whipping her head around. A bucket of cold water splashed all over her face and body, and before she knew it she was soaked and cold. Everybody who witnessed the event let out a loud gasp.

"Sora…" She stated calmly, gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes, "you are so. FUCKING. DEAD." She grabbed his arm tightly before he could make a break for it. With anger burning in her eyes she lunged at him, pinning him down to the ground and starting banging his head against the cold earth.

_"Shit…she just pinned him down in three seconds. That's…actually kinda hot..." _thought Roxas, waiting to see how it would escalate.

"I JUST CHANGED INTO MY DRY CLOTHES! NOW I'M GOING TO BE FREEZING THE REST OF THE NIGHT! YOU KNOW I HATE THE COLD! UGH! I HATE YOU!" She screamed while Sora lay helpless like a trapped animal. She grabbed her shirt and squeezed the water out onto his face, then grabbed her soaking hair and repeated the process. She then felt arms wrap around her waist and pulled her up off of the boy she wished to hurt so much more.

"Ok calm down. We all know he deserved that but we don't want him dead." spoke the voice belonging to the strong arms around her. She tried to escape his grasp, but his grip was too tight. She figured it must have been Riku who grabbed her, since he was the  
strongest guy she was friends with.

_"Wait…that didn't sound like Riku…" _She turned her turned her head slightly only to realize that Roxas was the one holding her. Immediately she felt her cheeks get a little pinker.

_"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! HE'S TOUCHING ME! Ok calm down…just get a grip…ACT NATURAL." _ Roxas let go of his grip as soon as she stopped struggling. Naminé had to admit, she never expected him to be as strong as he was. He was tall and skinny, yet he managed to pull her off of Sora with little effort. Well, that isn't saying much considering the tiny blonde weighs only 90 pounds and stands at about 5' 2".

"Naminé I'm sorry. I forgot you weren't in your bathing suit anymore." Sora apologized with sincerity in his voice.

"Fine. I forgive you. But can we please go to the bonfire now? I'm cold." She said, with a bit of sadness as she shivered. Naminé was always quick to forgive.

"Aww you poor thing!" Said Kairi, who had already forgotten about the brutal attack Naminé had carried out earlier, "Let's get you dried off." The red-head grabbed a mostly dry towel and wrapped it around her friend. She rubbed the blonde's arms to try and conduct heat as they all walked towards the brightly burning flames of the bonfire.

They all sat around the fire telling ghost stories and roasting marshmallows. Naminé sat poking at the fire with a stick, and thought about how she wanted to be sitting next to _him. _Every once in a while she would look over at Roxas, then smile and look down when she saw that he was already looking at her.

_"He's soooo cuuuute. Why does he have to be all the way over there? And why does he keep staring at me? And why is Sora's mom calling my name? Wait….what?" _Naminé thought, and then quickly responded to Sora's mom.

"Naminé honey your brother is here to drive you home. He said you have somewhere to go tomorrow so you need to get home and pack." Sora's mother said.

_"Awww man…why does she have to leave now? It's not like I can walk her to her car without looking weird, plus that's all the guys will talk about the rest of the night. Damn it." _Roxas thought as he watched Naminé get up and hug all her friends goodbye, _"Shit. She's walking over here! Maybe she'll hug you. Just remember, make eye contact and try to look…uhhh…hugable?" _

"Well, bye Roxas! It was nice meeting you. You make a great partner in crime, by the way." Naminé giggled. She contemplated whether she should hug him or not. She was afraid he would think she was weird if she did, but on the other hand she really wanted to. Her question was answered when he raised his arms as if he was expecting a hug.

"Yeah we do make a good pair." He replied as they embraced.

"Awwwww!" The entire group of guys cooed in their best girl impression voices.

"Oh shut up." Naminé said in reply, "Well, see you guys. And thanks Sora for inviting me." The gang all waved and said their final goodbyes as she walked off towards the waiting car.

_"That was the best day I've had in a while." _She thought, snuggling in her cozy bed, _"I wonder if I'll ever see him again." _

*END OF FLASHBACK*

"Yeah that sounds like fun. I'd like to see him again." Naminé stated.

"Great! Then we'll head over there in a little bit." Said Kairi happily as she bounced off the bench she was sitting on.

"Cool. Wait…in a little bit?"

_"Oh shit…"_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's chapter two of "Undone". I can't believe I had 25 hits for the first chapter in one day :0 I was not expecting that! I know as a fanfic reader that waiting for a new chapter to come out is TORTURE, so with that in mind, I'll try my best to update quickly. This chapters a pretty long one :3 I hope you enjoy it! Remember to review and offer some helpful suggestions!

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Chapter 2

"Look who's home! What up girl?" said Naminé's father, flipping through various TV channels.

"Nothing much. Just getting ready to head back out again. I'm going with Kairi into Twilight Town for a party then going to the game tonight." Naminé explained. She was panting as she walked quickly to and from her room, alternating getting ready and eating.

"Party, huh? Can I come?" Her dad said in a dorky voice while making a goofy face.

"Oh yeah sure! You'll fit right in!" Naminé replied sarcastically, as usual. She had a really close relationship with her dad. They acted like complete weirdos in front of each other, which was why they had so many inside jokes. She was the same way with her mom, but they were more likely to fight since they were together a lot more often. Her dad had dark brown hair with some gray streaks in it with brown eyes. Her mom also had dark brown hair, but had hazel eyes. People often thought she was adopted, since her brother also fitted the mold with brown hair. At least he had blue eyes like hers.

"Do you need money?" He asked, reaching for his wallet.

"Ummm…yeah. Not that much, just enough for some hot chocolate or a snack later." She replied. She walked back into her room and put on some black mascara along with a spray of her favorite vanilla perfume. She examined her hair in the mirror.

"_Hmmmm…well looks ok to me." _She thought. After brushing through it with her fingers, she left the room satisfied with her appearance.

"I left 20 dollars on the counter for you" Said her dad, "I think I heard somebody beep outside. Probably your ride I'm guessing."

"Thanks Dad! Yeah that's probably Sora. See ya." She said slipping out the door.

Stepping outside she saw Sora's silver SUV. He was just about to beep the horn again when he looked up to meet her gaze, which was more of a glare.

"If you beeped that horn I would've slapped you." She said, hopping into the front seat.

"Awww how sweet! Love you too." He said with a sappy smile. She ignored this and instead greeted Kari and Riku in the back seat.

"Damn, you look hot in that jacket girl!" Kairi said, obviously referring to her favorite white coat.

"Thanks! I got this thing last year." The blonde replied, looking down at her white knitted coat that hugged her curves. It had black buttons in the front along with a set of pockets she rarely used.

"Getting dressed up to see Roxas, eh?" Riku added in a suggestive tone.

"No. I wore this everyday last year, and today is cold enough to wear it." She said, sticking her chin up and looking out the window.

"Yeah well Roxas actually has a girlfriend. She's pretty nice, too. But she's kinda…" Sora trailed off, trying to find the right word, "Well I don't really know. I guess she's just kinda 'needy', if you will."

"Oh really? Like how?" Kairi asked. Relationships always perked her interest.

"Well from what he's told me, she'll hang all over him and drag him around, then she'll ditch him to hang with her friends, but get mad if he tries to go talk to his friends. It's like she wants him to be by her side when SHE wants him to be, and leaves when she doesn't want to be around him. But if he ever even acts the slightest bit upset, she'll try and blame it all on him. It's weird… OH! And she always wants him to do romantic things for her." Sora stated, scrunching his face up at the last sentence.

"That must be annoying." Naminé said, "What's her name?"

"Xion I think. She's nice, but she can be a bit too much. Apparently she wasn't always like this though. It all started when-" but before Sora could finish he was cut off.

"WAIT. Does she have black hair? Blue eyes?" Naminé asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. She has short black hair. Why?" Sora countered.

"I've met her before! At a Party!" Naminé chirped.

"Now that's a surprise…" Riku mumbled, referring to how often Naminé ended up at random parties.

"Oh shut up! It was at a friend's house that lives in twilight town! I met her since she was one of the few people my age that was there. Everyone else was a lot older. She looked a little out of place so I sat down and talked to her the whole night. I even got her to sing karaoke with me. It was actually a really fun time. We never actually kept in touch though, unfortunately." Naminé blurted out.

"Wow...well if you got along with her then there must still be hope!" Sora stated triumphantly. Naminé rolled her eyes.

"Wait…what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I'm hard to get along with?" Naminé questioned.

"No! Not at all! I'm just saying that you would be able to tell right away if she was a brat. You're really good at reading between the lines, and seeing people for who they really are, not who they're trying to be." Sora explained, very satisfied with his answer.

"Oh…well ok!" Naminé chirped.

Now Naminé was sitting up straight practically shining with excitement. They had just crossed the long bridge over the small chunk of ocean dividing their island from the main-land. What was the first town immediately after the large bridge? Yep, you guessed it. Twilight Town. And right now, they were in the very heart of it. Shops, people, towering buildings, this place had everything.

"Geez Naminé. You're face is pressed against the window."

"Well, Sora, I haven't been here in a while."

"Are you sure it's not because you're excited to see Roxas? He's quite the hunk now. He's tall and muscular, all the ladies love him."

"No. Just no."

"I bet your gonna do your signature smile to try and pull him away and make him your man."

"Or I won't…"

"I can see it already, 'Hahahaha ooooh my god you're so funny Roxas! Here's my number! We could SO text! OHMYGOD! Like totally!'"

"Okay, FIRST of all, I don't sound like that. SECOND, I don't like him. So no. you're wrong. Shut up. If you talk again, I'll back-hand you. Thanks." Naminé stated harshly. She was clearly getting annoyed. Sora was always the type to push her buttons. But she had blackmail on him, just in case he got too out of hand. Naminé found out a couple months ago that Sora was head over heels in love with Kairi, but was too afraid to tell her because he didn't want to ruin their friendship. It was frustrating because Naminé knew that Kairi liked him back but she also knew that they both needed to figure it out themselves. It wasn't her place to play matchmaker. If she set them up and things didn't work out, she had a feeling she would end up getting blamed somehow.

It was then when they pulled into the driveway of a large two story home. Naminé noticed they were no longer in the busy city, but more in a suburban neighborhood. The house wasn't a mansion or anything, but it looked big to Naminé since she lived in a small two story house along with most of the people who lived on Destiny Islands. The lawn was bigger than her lawn, but the neighbors were still pretty close. It resembled a larger cape-cod style home.

"Well, here we are. I'm guessing the party is in his basement. His parents are home but they probably promised to stay upstairs in their room. Surprisingly, they trust him." Sora said while rolling his eyes at his last sentence.

"It's a nice house." Kairi stated, admiring the flowers planted on the sides of the walkway leading to the porch. Sora was the first to step inside, since he was family he didn't bother knocking.

"HELLOOOO?" He called as he stepped in with the gang following behind him.

"Oh hey Sora!" said an older blonde man holding a bag of chips in his hand, "The Party is downstairs in the basement. I'm just here grabbing a snack for me and your aunt. Roxas told us we weren't allowed to be seen so we're hanging upstairs. Don't tell him I was down here!"

"I would never tell on you!" Sora said walking towards the door that leads to the basement, "You're my favorite uncle! Oh and by the way, I brought a few friends with me if you haven't noticed. This is Riku, that's Kairi, and the blonde one is Naminé." Naminé smirked at Sora for his use of the term, "the blonde one". He tended to do that a lot.

"Well it's nice to meet all of you! I'm Ben! You can call me uncle Ben if you want. I best be going now, I'm in foreign territory if ya know what I mean. Have fun!" Said Roxas' father. They all said goodbye, then followed Sora downstairs into the loud basement.

The basement was large; it was of those basements that's the same exact dimensions of the entire house. To their left was a door that probably lead to a laundry room, and to their right was an unfinished concrete basement. There was one area that had a few couches and chairs around a large TV with people playing Rock Band, and another looked like the drink station. It was basically a bunch of coolers filled with alcohol, and a table where a group of guys played beer pong.

_"Nice…looks like a fun crowd. I wonder where that kid is…" _Naminé thought as she scoped the area. The kid she had in mind was none other than Sora's cousin Roxas. She then observed a tall dirty blonde guy getting up after grabbing a drink from a cooler.

"Hey Sora! Nice to see you man!" The guy said while walking over and giving Sora one of those "guy hugs".

"Dude this place looks sick as hell! Oh, you remember Riku right?" Sora said. Roxas and Riku said hi to each other and did a typical guy "secret handshake" thing that Naminé recognized from her brother. She seemed to zone out for a second, but when she looked up she met his sapphire eyes staring into hers. He had a slight smile as he looked at her, almost as if he was transfixed.

"I remember you. You're Naminé right? You kicked ass at Sora's party that one time." He said, never looking away from her.

"Yeah, well, I get into it sometimes." She shrugged while giving a slight smile. She couldn't help but feel a little attracted to him. He was probably the best looking guy there.

"ROXY! Where are yooou?" Shouted a girl's voice. Roxas averted his gaze from Naminé, to girl with a short, black bob hairstyle who was wearing skinny jeans and a black t-shirt. He looked slightly annoyed, but forced a smile.

"Hey Xion. This is my cousin Sora, you remember him right? And his friends Riku, Kairi, and Naminé." He said, making eye contact with Naminé again.

"Oh nice to meet you…Naminé? Oh my gosh! I remember you! Come here girl!" Xion exclaimed while walking over to embrace the blonde. Naminé smiled and happily hugged her back.

"Hey Xion, it's been a while! I'm so glad to finally see you again! How've you been?" Naminé asked after their long embrace.

"I KNOOOW right? I haven't seen you since Larxene's party last year! I've been great! Me and Roxas are dating now, if you haven't noticed." She said with a wink as she clung onto Roxas' arm.

"Aww that's great! You guys look so cute together!" Naminé said making sure to look directly at Roxas as she spoke. He forced a slight smile and looked down at his shoes. Something told him he had to change the topic. Fast.

"Well…I hope you guys drink cause we've got a beer pong tournament going on and it's getting pretty intense. I know YOU want to play, Sora." Roxas said with a mischievous smile.

"HELL YEAH!" Sora shouted as he ran over towards the beer pong table. Naminé laughed, considering how bad he sucked at beer pong. Naminé won every time they played at Riku's house on Saturday nights. Kairi was even better then he was.

"Count me in." Naminé said, heading towards the coolers with Kairi one step ahead of her. For some reason she felt like tonight was going to be an interesting night.

"DAMMIT NAMINÉ! WHY ARE YOU SO GOOD AT THIS?" Kairi yelled in frustration as she shook Naminé's shoulders.

"Sorry Kai. At least you're not as bad as Sora!" Naminé teased, "ALRIGHT who's next?" She felt that slight feeling of giddiness she got after she drank. Luckily, Naminé wasn't effected by alcohol the same way it affected others. It basically just made her think everything was a lot funnier than it really was. Plus, she never drank to the point of being incoherent. She hated people who did that.

"I'll play you." Naminé turned around to see a tall guy with red spiky hair walking towards her, "The name's Axel."

"I'm Naminé." She replied, not letting her guard down. He seemed to be a bit…well she couldn't really put her finger on it. But something told her not to say too much too soon. It was then when everybody in the room stopped what they were doing and sprinted over to the beer pong table.

"Dude Axel is the CHAMPION at beer pong!"

"Yeah he'll totally win this one easy!"

"Yeah sorry Naminé, but you've got no chance." Said Roxas, who had just played Axel and lost mercilessly.

"I'm up for a challenge." She smirked, eyeing her opponent. He flashed a devious smile back and set up the cups.

"Good luck." He whispered as he walked passed her. Instead of replying to his remark she winked at him. She knew she didn't want to brag about her talent just in case she lost.

"Shit…this is it…" Said one of the guys surrounding the table, "If she makes this shot, she WINS. Against AXEL. The CHAMPION."

"I don't know man…she looks pretty out of it. I don't know if she'll be able to do it." Said another.

The entire room was silent, except for a few girls who were sitting on the couches talking about girly stuff, Xion being one of them. Naminé had three full cups on her side, and only one remained on Axel's side. If she got this one, he would have to drink the last one and she would be the new Champion. It sounded easy, but not for a 100 pound girls who's already had to drink 7 cups of beer. Luckily, she didn't have anything strong before she started playing, so all she had in her system was the light beer they used specifically for the game.

"Come on Nami you got this!" Kairi shouted from the crowd of spectators. She grabbed the ball and lined it up with where she wanted it to go. After a long an intense breath, she lowered her to get ready to throw and-

"AHHHHH!" A loud scream came from the circle of girls near the couch. Naminé looked at the commotion, than looked sadly at the table. The loud scream threw her off and she threw it not even close to wear she needed it to be.

"OH MY GOD! I'M SOO GLAD YOU CAME! AHHHHHH!" Shouted the overly excited Xion as she embraced a girl who had just arrived. Everybody who was gathered around the table was now staring with their mouths wide open.

"Shit man…she should get a redo…"

"Yeah what the fuck is that about! That's not fair she could have made it!"

"XION! Can you keep it down just a little? This is really intense and you just made her screw up!" Roxas shouted at the raven haired girl as she clung to her newly arrived friend.

"Roxy calm down!"

"NO. You calm down." He stated sternly. He walked back to the table shaking his head in frustration. He then turned to Sora and whispered something in his ear. Sora widened his eyes and nodded his head as if he strongly agreed to what Roxas just told him. Naminé just stood there staring in shock at what had just happened.

"REDO!" Shouted Kairi.

"Nope. Afraid not. You only get a redo if somebody shakes the cups, table, or the person throwing. Loud noises don't count. Got that memorized?" Axel smirked. Naminé was at a loss for words. She eventually shook it off and flashed him yet another devious smile.

"That's fine. Rules are rules, right?" She said, folding her arms. Axel stood at the other side of the table, aiming his ball carefully. The rest of the room was silent. He stared intently at his target, and just as he was about to throw…

"MIIIIIIISS!" Naminé shouted. His throw went off track at the last second and he ended up throwing the ball into one of her empty cups. That meant that he had to drink one of his own filled cups. The last one he had left, to be specific.

"Well it looks like I win" Naminé said while walking towards him. She patted him on the back. "What? Unfair? Well like you said, no redos unless somebody shakes the cups, table, or the person throwing. Loud noises don't count. Don't worry, I got that memorized." she said while tapping her head. There was a brief silence as everyone tried to piece together what had just happened.

"UNFUCKING BELIEVEABLE."

"OH SNAP!"

"MAN SHE PLAYED YOU!"

"HOLY SHIT YOU LOST MAN!"

"NEW CHAMPION! WOOOOOO!"

Kairi jumped up and down and hugged her best friend.

"AHHH! YOU DID IT! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" The red-head shrieked. They held each other for a while as Kairi continued gushing over how proud she was. The two of them tended to get more touchy with each other when they were tipsy. After a minute or two they let go. Naminé immediately glanced over at Roxas who was clapping and smiling at her, much like the rest of the guys there. She smiled at him briefly, but it faded quickly after reminding herself that he was taken.

It had been about half an hour since the tournament. Roxas was chatting with his friends in one corner of the basement. He couldn't help but steal a glance at Naminé every once in a while. She was sitting on a couch next to Kairi and his friend Demyx. He knew Demyx was trying to flirt with her; he could tell by the way Demyx was smiling and resting his arm on the top of the couch behind her head. She would smile and nod at what he was saying, than look over at Kairi and exchange a glance. Then he noticed her mouth something to her. "Save me" was what it looked like. By her expression Roxas knew she was creeped out.

_"Why don't I go over and talk to her? Xion is nowhere to be found. She's probably off on one of her rampages after I yelled at her earlier. It can't hurt, right? She seems…interesting." _Roxas thought while walking towards the blonde. He had to admit, she did look pretty. Probably the prettiest girl at the party. Naminé noticed him approaching her. After whispering something to Kairi, she stood up from her seat which surprised him.

_ "She's not avoiding me…is she?" _he thought. But his suspicion went away when she walked directly up to him.

"Your friend is creepy…" she said bluntly. He was expecting a "hello" or maybe a "hey" so he couldn't help but laugh at her statement.

"Who Demyx? Yeah he's…out there. Oh and congrats on winning beer pong. Axel is a bit pissed, but I think he actually respects you after what you did. In fact, all the guys here were surprised you had it in you." Roxas said. He was beginning to feel nervous. For the first time in years he felt butterflies in his stomach.

"Yeah well I like to defend my title. I'm the champion back in my town. Not to brag or anything." She said proudly while brushing her shoulder. Roxas laughed and felt relieved that she was easier to talk to then he thought. He eventually asked her if she wanted to sit down and talk, which she agreed to.

They found a spot that was isolated from the rest of the party where they talked for hours. He learned that she loved to draw, had an older brother in the army, and liked being outside. She learned that he also had an older, he loved to skateboard, and he also liked being outside. He even worked part-time for his dad's construction company, which explained why he was so muscular now. He had matured a lot since they first met. His hair got a bit dark, and he had a bit of scruffy facial hair if she looked at him closely. She guessed that he was probably a little over 6' tall now. They both just felt it was so easy to open up to one another.

"Oh my god are you serious? You got trampled? Now that's fucked up."

"I know right? It was my own fault for going into the mosh pit in the first place. I just didn't expect that big guy to come out of nowhere and knock me over. Luckily I had Kairi there; she saw me on the ground and basically picked me up and carried me to safety. It was hilarious!"

"I can't believe you went into a mosh pit! You're so tiny!"

"I'm not tiny! I'm 5' 5". There are girls much shorter than me."

"I didn't mean that you're short...even though you kinda are…I meant you're skinny! And you look so innocent! I don't understand how any guy would want to hurt you, that'd be like kicking a puppy!"

Naminé stared at him, not sure whether she should take his comment as a compliment or insult.

"I'm not short…you're just tall." She pouted. She hated being called short, since she wasn't actually short.

"Cute." Roxas chuckled. Although they both held a drink, they both stopped drinking a while ago. They enjoyed each other's company so much that neither of the two wanted to feel intoxicated. They just wanted to get to know each other.

"Roxas…we need to talk." Roxas suddenly snapped out of his conversation and remembered how he had a girlfriend. An angry girlfriend, who was staring right at him. A VERY angry girlfriend who was glaring at him while he was sitting next to another girl.

_"Oh shit. I hope she didn't hear that last part." _he thought. He looked over at Naminé who had a slightly worried expression.

"Ummm….yeah. Let's go upstairs. I guess I'll see you later, Naminé."

"Bye." Naminé said quietly. She could tell Xion had changed a lot since they had first met; she didn't exactly know how to react to her. To avoid any conflict, Naminé figured it would be best to hang out with Kairi and the boys for the rest of the night.

"Owwww! Oh my gosh Kairi stop! Stop it right now!" Naminé managed to say between gasps for air. Her sides were killing her. If she ever thought that she could die of laughter, this would be the time for it to happen.

"Come on baby…" Kairi said in her best man voice while getting in Naminé's face, "Lay it on me."

"EEEEWWW Kairi! He was so gross! Stop it! I can't take it anymore!" Naminé shrieked as she created some personal space between them. After Roxas left an hour ago, one of his scumbag friends took up the opportunity to show off some of his "moves". Dance moves. Drunken dance moves, which basically consisted of countless pelvic thrusts and other sexual references directed at the blonde and red-head. He threw in the phrase "Come on babe…lay it on me" quite often. Whatever that meant. He was clearly wasted.

"Alright girls. I think it's time we get out of here. The game starts in 10." Sora said, throwing his keys up in the air.

"Wait…you're not driving, right? I saw you drinking! Holy shit who's going to drive? We've ALL been drinking!" Kairi panicked while springing out of her seat.

"Relax Kai. I'll drive us. I had one beer and that was three or four hours ago. I figured I'd end up being the designated driver…AGAIN." Riku smirked. He grabbed the keys out of Sora's hands and all four of them headed upstairs. Before leaving the house, Sora turned into the living where Roxas sat with Xion. Roxas was sitting on the end of the couch with Xion curled up next to him. The whole scene looked cute to Naminé, until she noticed that Xion was chatting with her friends who sat on the couch across from the couple. It felt almost inconsiderate of Xion to lay on Roxas yet pay no attention to him like that. Or at least that's what Naminé thought.

"We're heading out Roxas. The game is starting up soon." Sora said.

"Oh…uh yeah. I'll walk you guys out." said the dirty blonde as he sat up from his spot. Xion remained completely unfazed by this and continued her conversation without looking up. They all walked out to Sora's black SUV, with Riku hoping into the driver's seat.

"Hey Naminé." Roxas called out before she could jump in next to Kairi.

"Yes?" She asked. Her heart was beating a little bit faster than usually. Before Roxas answered he fumbled around in his sweatshirt pocket, pulling out a phone and handing it to her.

"You wanna give me your number?" He responded without making eye contact. She could have died right there. The way he scratched the back of his neck and looked down at the ground was just the cutest thing ever.

"Of course! But…how do you work this thing?" She said, trying to figure out how his phone worked. He laughed at how confused she looked.

"Hold on." He grabbed the phone from her, pushed a few buttons, then gave it back. When she realized that he had set up the 'new contact' screen, she typed in her name with a smiley face after it along with her number.

"There you go." She smiled.

"Thanks. I'll text you." He grinned. She hopped into the backseat and immediately met a knowing gaze coming from her best friend.

"…what?" Naminé questioned, already knowing what Kairi was hinting at.

"YOU LIKE HIM."

"GO! GO! GOOOOO! YEEESS! TOUCHDOWN!" Sora screamed. He jumped right out of his seat and started high-fiving all the guys within a five-foot radius of him. That concluded the first half of the game. With the opposing team winning by only one touchdown, it would be appropriate to say that things were getting heated.

"You want to get some hot chocolate?" Kairi asked.

"Is that even a question? Of course." Naminé said getting up from the soaking wet bleachers. It started raining about 20 minutes ago which made the game a lot more intense.

"You know, Roxas is probably right over there." Kairi said pointing to the opposite side of the field where the other team's bleachers were.

"Haha. You're still hung up on that? We're just friends. And like I said a MILLION times, HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND." Naminé stated sternly. They approached the concession stand and ordered their drinks. Surprisingly, they had gotten there right before the giant half-time mob arrived.

"All I'm saying is that you guys look really cute together. Me, Sora, and Riku all agree that you guys should get married and have beautiful babies…well maybe that's just me. But Sora did say that Xion and Roxas are bound to split anyway. Apparently they're both changing, specifically the girl." explained Kairi. They both took a sip of their watered down hot chocolates.

"Eww. This hot chocolate sucks. Anyway, although I DO admit I find Roxas attractive, I'm also friends with Xion. Therefore I will NOT intentionally flirt with Roxas while they are dating. But I am curious to find out what's up with Xion…she does seem like she's a whole lot different than the girl I met at Larxene's party." Naminé sighed. The situation already had the word "drama" written all over it. Drama being the one thing she tried to avoid at all costs.

As they walked back to the bleachers, Naminé felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She pulled out the device and answered with the usual, "hello?".

"Uh, um, yes, is this Naminé Fair?" stammered an adult female voice. Naminé gave a confused look over to Kairi.

"Yeah that's me. I'm sorry, but who is this? I don't recognize your voice."

"Naminé, my name is Tifa Lockheart. I'm a nurse here at Destiny Islands Hospital..." she stopped and took a deep breath, "I'm really sorry to tell you this, but, your parents were just involved in a car accident. The other driver lost control of the car and crashed straight into the car your parents were driving…" The woman stopped talking, almost expecting to hear a response. Naminé felt a rush of concern flow right into her. Endless thoughts of what could possibly happen next surged through her mind.

"Listen," the woman continued, "I know this is obviously very scary for you, and I feel absolutely horrible telling you this, but they are currently in the intensive care unit. If you can get to the hospital right away, I strongly suggest you do. Please remain calm though, our doctors are highly trained. If you can't get here, that's ok too. The police department will send somebody to your house to make sure your ok," there was another brief pause before she continued, "Once again, I'm extremely sorry."

Naminé was speechless. Utter shock was the only way to describe how she felt the moment the woman hung up the phone.

"Naminé?" Kairi asked. The worry was plastered onto her face as well. She the voice on the phone say things like "I'm sorry" "intensive care" and "accident" although she didn't know if she heard right.

"I…" Naminé searched for the right words. Nothing. Absolutely nothing came to mind.

"Naminé, please tell me what's going on. What did the lady on the phone say to you?" Kairi pleaded. Naminé's face resembled a ghost. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times, hinting that she was trying to make her thoughts form words.

"My parents…they…got into an accident," she managed to spit out. Her voice was eerily quiet. She stumbled back a few steps in the direction of the exit. "I have to go now. I'm really sorry I just…I just have to get out of here."

"Naminé wait!" Kairi shouted after her. Naminé was already speed walking away from her. "Naminé please! Come back!"

Naminé nearly fell into the driver's seat of her navy blue sedan. She ran through the pouring rain from the school to her house in what must have been record time. Kairi tried her best to keep up, but eventually she must have turned around and gone back. It didn't matter to Naminé though. Not now, at least. She just knew that she had to get to the hospital as fast as possible. With that in mind, she started up her car a sped out of her driveway and down the street.

_"Please…PLEASE let them be ok" _was all she thought the whole ride there. She parked right in front of the emergency room entrance and sprinted into the building. She didn't even bother to bring her phone or car keys.

"How can I help you young lady?" Asked a brown haired, middle aged woman at the front desk.

"I'm Naminé Fair. I need to see my parents right now. They're in the intensive care unit. I got a call from a lady named Tifa Lockhart who said they were in a car accident and that I should get here as soon as possible. So I did." She spoke without even taking a breath. The words spilled out so fast that it took the lady a few seconds to figure out what she had just said. She motioned at another nurse to come over towards them.

"Would you please bring this young lady to Tifa in intensive care?" The other nurse nodded, "Thank you!" Naminé followed the nurse into a long, white, terrifying hallway.

They sat her down on a cushioned bench. The lady who she guessed was Tifa approached her and wrapped an arm around her.

"The doctor said he'd be out to speak with you. In fact, I think that's him right over there." Tifa spoke in a warm and comforting voice. Naminé looked up to see an older blonde man approaching them. She observed his long white lab coat and his blonde and gray looking beard. In no way did she find him inviting. In fact, he was intimidating. His face showed no hint of emotion. He stopped in front of them and cleared his throat.

"It pains me to say this, especially to a girl as young as you," Naminé's heart instantly dropped, "But unfortunately, neither of your parents made it. I'm terribly sorry. Both of them suffered major head trauma. We tried our best, but there was really nothing we could do. They died shortly after they were checked into intensive care."

Naminé's thoughts ran completely dry. Her parents were gone; she would never see them again. She thought she heard her name being called. She thought she felt somebody embrace her. But she really didn't know. It was like the air from her lungs had escaped her, and she didn't know how to get it back. She tried to remember how to breathe, but her mind was now a blank canvas. It was then she realized Kairi, Sora, and Riku. They must have showed up right as the doctor told her the news. The tragic news. The life-changing news.

"Naminé? The doctor asked if you could give him your brother's information, ok? He needs to give him a call and get everything figured out. Can you do that? It's ok if you can't." Kairi spoke, gently wiping the never ending stream of tears from her best friend's eyes. Naminé didn't answer her. She just held onto her tighter. She didn't even know they had been hugging for ten minutes already. Realizing that now was the time, Riku decided to speak up.

"He's in the army, and his name is Zack Fair," Riku said as he approached the doctor, "I'm not sure where he's stationed right now, and I don't even think Naminé knows."

"That's alright. We have people who can locate and contact him; it'll just take a little longer than we ideally hoped for. Since Naminé is a minor, we have an agent who will come and pick her up from her house tomorrow to figure out where she will be living from now on. I'm guessing her brother won't be able to take her in…" the doctor explained. Riku gave a puzzled expression.

"What's going to happen to her? She won't get taken away, will she?" Riku questioned. His forehead was wrinkled with concern.

"That depends. If there is a willing family member that can take her in, then they can apply to be her legal guardian until she's 18. If there are no willing or eligible family members, then she will be sent to a foster home or family to live with."

"What happens if she has to live in a foster home? Is there even one around here?"

"Destiny Islands does not have any. She would probably end up in Radiant Garden. That's where the adoption agency is headquartered."

"That's over three hours away! There's no where closer?"

"I'm afraid not."

The doctor gave him an apologetic look, but turned around and headed around a corner to an unknown part of the building. Riku turned back to see Naminé sobbing into Sora's chest while Kairi exchanged some information with Tifa. Kairi walked up to him, her eyes puffy from crying.

"We better get out of here. I don't know what to do…she's a wreck and probably won't be better anytime soon. I'll have to drive her back home in her car and stay with her for the night. I doubt she'll sleep though…" Kairi chocked out. She began to shed a few tears also. How was she supposed to help her best friend in this situation? No amount of chocolate cake, funny movies, and lame card games could make THIS type of pain go away.

"I think we should all stay with her tonight. She needs us." Riku suggested. Kairi nodded. They both walked over to Sora who was still holding the weeping Naminé.

"Naminé?" Kairi started, "We're going to bring you home now. I hope you don't mind, but we're all going to stay with you tonight at your house. We don't want you to be alone. Ok?" Naminé pulled out of Sora's hold and nodded. Her eyes were bloodshot and hazy. It was like looking at a completely different person. A hollow, miserable, and confused person.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Heeeere's chapter three. This ones a bit boring -_- and there is a lot of time skipping in it, I didn't want to bore you guys more with all of Nami's saddness :( plus, I've never been to a funeral before, so I didn't really know how to write about that. This one was a bit rushed too, so just let me know if there's any mistakes so I can fix them :3 I'll try and get chapter four out as fast as possible, although it might take a couple days :| and I promise it'll be more interesting!

Thank you so much SapphireIntensity09 for adding this to your favorites! It means a lot!

I can't believe this got 100 views already! That's just crazy! O.O Thank you all for checking my story out! And please review it and tell me what you think! EVEN IF YOU THINK I CAN WRITE IT BETTER! PLEEEASE JUST TELL ME! I WANT TO LEARN! :D

BAHAHA! Well...enjoy ;)

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Chapter 3

The car ride back to Naminé's house was deathly quiet. The only sounds that were heard were Naminé's continuous sobs and the sound of the wind against the car. Riku decided to drive Naminé's car with Kairi and Naminé in the backseat, while Sora drove his own car behind them.

Every once in a while she would stop crying. Mostly because she cried herself to the point of having what must have been the WORST migraine she'd ever experienced. After the slight relief she'd feel from breathing normally again, she began to think of her parents. She would think back to the time they spent together, and how lucky she was to have parents as great as they were. Unfortunately, that just lead her back to thinking about how she'd never see them again, and in an instant she was back to crying hysterically.

"Hey Nami, I know this is hard for you, but you gotta get some sleep." Kairi whispered. Sora and Riku were out sleeping in the living room while Kairi and Naminé were lying awake in Naminé's bedroom.

"I know Kai…I know. I'm just so scared. What's going to happen to me now?" Naminé trembled. It was 4 in the morning and Naminé had finally managed to get herself together…or at least enough to be able to speak.

"I don't know. But whatever happens, I know you'll be ok. I'm sure you won't end up living with a foster family. In fact, I know you won't. You'll be going to college in less than a year, so until then you can just stay with your grandparents, or maybe an aunt or uncle…or even with me if that's possible." Naminé smiled faintly at how comforting Kairi was. She even smiled a bit.

"Thanks Kairi. And I'm sorry you have to deal with me like this. I know it must be difficult for you, too."

"Don't apologize! You have no reason to. And I promise you that it's no trouble at all for me. And I know this is going to be a long and painful process, but I promise you I'll be by your side the whole time."

"Thank you…" Naminé suddenly felt her eyes feel heavy.

"No problem. Now get some rest, ok?"

"I'll try."

It had been three days since that night. Naminé stayed in her bed the whole time, only getting up to shower and eat when Kairi would force her to. Her friends (mostly Kairi) would drop by after school to check in on her, but they scarcely talked. Naminé was turning into a recluse. Every day she drifted farther and farther away from her friends, and they had no idea of how to fix her. A few times she would wake up and stare at her doorway, just waiting for her mother to come prancing in like she used to. But she never did. It was just her and her house.  
A silent, empty house.

But this morning was different. Instead of waking up to a vacant house, she woke up to a large manly figure gently shaking her.

"Nami? Nami it's me, Zack." said the gentle giant. Naminé sprung up from her bed and stared at him with her eyes wide open. He reached out and hugged her gently.

"Zack? You're….ZACK?" she grabbed on to his massive biceps, "YOU GOT HUGE!" Zack chuckled at how amused she was just squeezing his arm.

"Yeah, well, that's what the army does to you," he said, flexing a bit. "I can't believe how much you've grown. I feel guilty for not being here to watch you grow up…"

"Don't feel guilty. At least you're here now." Naminé smiled. The feeling of happiness was so foreign to her now; smiling felt so unnatural.

"Well, not for long…" he said looking down at the ground, "I'm only here for the funeral, which is tomorrow…" Naminé's heart instantly sank.

"WHAT?"

"I know, it's not fair. But my unit is leaving on Thursday for a special operation. It's classified, so I can't talk about. But the point is, I have to be back Wednesday night."

"You mean tomorrow night?"

"Yes…" Zack patted his sister on the head, "But listen, you're a tough girl. You always have been. I know for a fact that whatever life throws at you, you can handle it. Mom and Dad wouldn't want to see you like this…so how about we make a promise, ok?"

"What kind of promise?"

"I promise that I'll make it to your graduation, and bring ALL my army friends, and when they call out your name to get your diploma, we'll all SCREAM and cheer as loud as we possibly can. You'll be the most popular girl there. And then we'll throw you a giant party."

Naminé smiled and nodded her head.

"Ok, ok. That sounds fun. Now what do I have to promise YOU?"

"Well that's an easy one," He placed a hand on her shoulder, "You have to promise me, that after the funeral tomorrow you'll stop mourning for Mom and Dad. Never cry about them again."

Naminé stared at him as if he had two heads.

"That's IMPOSSIBLE!"

"No it's not! I mean, maybe you can cry just ONE more time after tomorrow, but just once. After that you're done." He observed the blonde thinking about it before he continued, "Come on, Nami. It's like I just said, I KNOW there's nothing in this world you can't handle. And I also know that Mom and Dad don't want you to be upset."

Naminé looked into his sapphire eyes that matched her own. She knew he was right.

"Fine. I'll do it." she announced.

"Great! I know you can do it," he assured, "Now listen, there are two people out in the kitchen that would like to talk to you. One of them is Aunt Rose, remember her? The rich aunt that never seemed to get along with any of her siblings except for Mom? Yeah, well she's out there, and so is a social worker for the adoption agency. She'll be the one to explain what's going on."

Outside in the kitchen stood two women; one with short blue hair and the other with medium length brown hair tied back in a bun. The brown haired one she recognized to be her Aunt Rose.

"Good morning, Naminé. My name is Aqua, and I'm part of the foster care system based in Radiant Garden." The blue haired lady said. Naminé immediately felt worried.

"Oh…hi…" was all the blonde could mutter out.

"Hello Naminé, darling. I know it's been a while, but it's me, your Aunt Rose. I haven't seen you since you were 10! My, have you gotten so beautiful!" said the brown-haired relative as she approached and embraced the blonde.

"Hi, Aunt Rose. It's good to, uh, see you." Naminé stammered. She had to admit, she was completely puzzled as to why her Aunt Rose, of ALL people, was standing in her kitchen right now.

"So, Naminé," Aqua began, "the reason I'm here is so that I can explain what's happening to you now. We contacted the rest of your family, and many of them said that they would take you in if you needed a place to stay. But your aunt Rose here has agreed to take you in as well, and currently she is the best suited financially to become your legal guardian…This should be exciting news for you, since now you'll be able to stay close to all your friends here in Destiny Islands!"

"Well, that's great…" Naminé replied, trying to absorb all that was happening, "And where exactly do you live Aunt Rose?"

"In Twilight Town, and I promise you'll feel right at home with me. Unfortunately, you won't be able to continue going to school here in Destiny Islands, you'll have to go to Twilight High School." Her aunt replied, "But I'm sure you'll love it there. It's truly a great school. One thing I must warn you about must warn you about is the fact that I go on a lot of business trips. Sometimes for weeks at a time, but rarely over a month. So with that said, you can feel free to have your friends over as much as you'd like while I'm gone so you're not too lonely. I don't have any kids, so you'll have the house pretty much to yourself, well, except for the chef and housekeepers. Oh, and don't worry about not feeling safe. My house has a high tech security system. I even have a monitor room with a few security guards."

"Wow…that sounds, great! Thank you so much Aunt Rose, I'm so thankful that you're willing to take me in. I promise I won't be any trouble at all."

_"Living with my rich Aunt who's barely ever home? This couldn't be more perfect…" _she thought. She had to admit, her worst fear was ending up living with an overly protective family. She was so used to being able to go where ever she wants, when she wants, since her parents trusted her so much.

_"And going to Twilight High won't be so bad…at least I already have one friend…" _she thought, thinking back to the spiky haired dirty-blonde she admired so much.

It was now the day after the funeral, which Naminé had already started erasing from her memory. She only remembered seeing at LEAST 30 to 40 people crying and telling stories about her mom and dad. The rest of the event was just a blur. The present was all that mattered to her, and that very moment she was staring at a colossal, white mansion with a cobblestone round-about, a glistening fountain, and the most gorgeous garden she'd ever seen. It looked like it was straight out of a "lifestyles of the rich and famous" magazine.

"Well…here it is!" announced Aunt Rose as they finally arrived at the top of a lengthy driveway. Naminé simply stared at the house in disbelief.

"THIS, is your HOUSE?" Naminé blurted. She knew her aunt had to be loaded considering she got picked up by her aunt's personal driver. But THIS was outrageous.

"Yep. Home sweet home!" she sang. The driver opened up the door and helped them out of the car. Naminé was still gaping at the sight of this huge place where SHE, a small town girl whose room was probably the size of your average backyard shed, was going to be living.

"This is…this is…INSANE! This place is HUGE!" she said, her voice echoing as they entered a large foyer with two staircases that lead to the top floor. To her left was a large formal dining room decorated with vintage furniture, and to her right was another large room that she guessed was a living room.

"Come, I'll show you where you'll be staying." Said Aunt Rose. She followed her Aunt as she walked straight between the two stair cases and down a long and spacious hall. As they walked, Naminé noticed they passed a few archways. One, she took note of, lead to an oversize kitchen and another lead to an enormous library. Eventually they reached an elevator, where they both got in and went down to the bottom floor.

"There is staircase, in case you were wondering. But I figured you'd like the elevator." Rose smirked.

"You got that right." Naminé replied. The elevator doors opened to yet another marble foyer. Immediately when they stepped out, there were glass doors that lead to an outdoor pool with a waterfall, and a nice patio area.

"Here we are," Rose said, opening a large white door, "This is your room. I mean, if you don't like it you can always switch to one of the bedrooms upstairs, but this one you can get to faster by just walking around the back of the house and going through the glass doors, so if you stay out late you don't have to use the front door. Plus it has its own spa and master bathroom." Naminé stepped in to what she thought was heaven. The room had a living area with a plasma screen TV and a comfy sectional couch, a nice wooden desk with a brand new laptop, a breakfast table with some chairs and a mini-fridge, a massive bathroom with a jetted tub and steam room, and a giant king sized bed with fluffy white blankets and pillows. The sight was a teenager's dream come true.

"NO…WAY. THIS IS CRAZY! IT'S LIKE MY OWN APARTMENT! It's AMAZING." she shrieked.

"You really think so?" asked Rose with a concerned expression. Naminé ran over and gave her the biggest bear hug she'd ever given.

"OF COURSE!"

"First day of school, first day of school, whaaaat should I weeeear!" Naminé sang as she searched threw her newly packed dresser drawers. She pulled out her favorite pair of skinny jeans and a form fitting, long sleeved indigo sweater. It hugged her in all the right places and showed off a bit of her collar bones. "Peeeerfect!" she chimed as she changed into her outfit.

The blonde walked over to a full-body mirror and examined her appearance, adjusting a few strands of her golden blonde hair.

_"Alright, Naminé, you look fine. Just remember, be yourself! Have fun! And be confident!" _she told herself. She knew Zack would have been so proud of her; it's been four days since the funeral and she didn't cry once. This is mainly because she's been distracted with the whole moving process. She had lived in the same house her whole life, so she wasn't exactly familiar with the 'packing and unpacking everything you own' procedure. As she looked around for any school supplies she might have forgotten to back, she noticed her phone laying on the top of a pile of unsorted things.

_"I haven't checked that thing in a while…" _she thought as she walked towards the object. She wondered if it even had any charge left. She clicked a button and realized it did, not very much, but it still functioned. Just as she suspected, she had quite a few of missed calls and texts. She got a few texts from Kairi, Riku, and Sora, all saying that they missed her and wanted to see her as soon as she was ready, and then a few others from an unfamiliar number.

Text one: _Hey Naminé, it's Roxas :) _

Text two: _What's up?_

Text three: _You there? :(_

Text four: _Hey I was wondering if you wanted to go get some ice cream with me sometime. It's on me :) _(this one was a few days after the first three)

Text five: _If you didn't want to talk to me, you should have just said so. I feel like an idiot wasting my time…I guess I won't bother anymore. Bye. _(Two days after text four)

Naminé could have died right then and there. She felt absolutely horrible for making him feel like she was ignoring him, ESPECIALLY when she actually wanted to talk to him again. And now, she might just end up seeing him in the hallway, or maybe even have classes with him. And he was going to look at her like she was your typical teenage bitch.

_"Way to go, Naminé…way to go." _She thought as she slapped her cheek, _"Whatever. I'll just have to make things right next time I see him. He'd understand if I told him what happened."_

"Naminé?" Rose whispered while peeking through the door way, "Are you sure you want to take the school bus? I can drive you!" Naminé sprayed some perfume on and grabbed her backpack.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I think its better that I take the bus, that way I can check out the school parking lot when I get there and see if it's not too hectic. If it's not that bad I'll just drive there. Plus, I might be able to make some friends that can show me around." She shrugged.

"Alright, if you say so. I must say, Naminé, you're one brave girl. You won't have any trouble making friends." Rose assured. Naminé really took her compliment to heart. It wasn't going to be easy moving to a new school for the first time, so any sort of comfort was appreciated.

"Thanks! Well, I better get going now," she said, throwing on her white knitted coat, "I'll see you later."

Her Aunt waved goodbye to her as she walked out onto the back patio and headed through her backyard towards the bus-stop. She was always the type of person to take short-cuts if she could.

_"Alright…according to my aunt, the bus stop should be around here." _she thought as she looked around the residential neighborhood of Sunset Terrace. She then spotted a group of what looked like fellow high school students waiting on the side of the road. Two or three looked like they were talking to each other, and about 4 more stood and listened to their iPods.

_"Well, that was easy enough."_ She thought as she arrived at the spot. A brown haired girl who was talking to two boys looked at the blonde curiously. Naminé stood a bit behind the trio within the small cluster of students and attempted to get a peek at everyone who was there. She then made eye contact with the curious brunette and smiled.

"Hi! Are you a new student?" The brunette asked cheerfully.

"Yes, I am." Naminé replied.

"Oh wow! Well I'm Ollette, and this here is Hayner, and that's Pence." She said, pointing to the lanky blonde and chubby brunette boys she was previously talking to.

"I'm Naminé, nice to meet you guys." said Naminé as she shook both their hands. In her peripheral vision she saw a large yellow mass pull up and stop. She turned her head, and sure enough, it was the bus. She walked up the stairs and into the student filled vehicle. Just as she suspected, almost EVERYONE who was talking had stopped and stared at her. Thankfully, she found an open seat, where she sat down and immediately busied herself with a sketch she'd been working on.

"Morning Roxas." Said Demyx as he arrived at their bus stop.

"Sup man."

"Did you ever hear back from that girl at your party last week?"

Roxas turned to him, obviously agitated.

"No, Demyx. I probably texted her 5 times, and even called her once, but she never answered."

"I told you she was too hot for you!"

Roxas sighed deeply before speaking, "The annoying part is, I almost broke up with Xion for her. I thought she might like me, but obviously she wasn't going to date me if I was taken. But when she didn't even answer my casual texts, that's when I realized she was probably not even interested. Heck, I even asked her to get ice cream with me. But nope. She didn't answer." He kicked up some dirt from the ground and put his hands in his pockets. The thought of her beautiful face just made him hate her more.

"Wow, that's a bummer…you think I'd have a chance with her?" asked Demyx, who simply stared at him with hope. Instead of responding to his oblivious friend, he just entered the newly arrived bus. He didn't want to talk about her anymore. She was just a tease, and for all he cared, she could just stay out of his life forever. But, as he headed back to his usually seat, he saw what could have been the most shocking sight he could have imagined. It was Naminé. There was no doubt in his mind. She just sat there drawing, not even looking up once.

_"Holy shit…no way…NO WAY…she looks gorgeous. Wait! NO! STOP THINKING THAT! You don't like her, remember?" _he thought, hoping she wouldn't notice him. He couldn't help but feel a little happy to see her sitting there all by herself. He wasn't exactly pleased with her at the moment. In fact, he actually hated her. She was the only girl who made him feel like a complete idiot, and he despised her for that. He walked passed her, unseen, and sat a few seats behind her. One thing was certain; he wasn't going to let her walk around and act like SHE won.

_"I don't know why she's here all the sudden, but at least I'll be able to give her a piece of my mind." _He smirked.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey everyone! It's crazy that this story has over 200 views! Thank you all so much for reading :) Just to let everyone know, I just got KINGDOM HEARTS: DREAM DROP DISTANCE! GAAAAAHHH! I played it a bit today and it was sooo much fun! It's a little confusing, since your switching back and forth between playing as Sora or Riku. And the storyline is complicated, as usual -_- but hey! That's Kingdom Hearts for ya! Anyway, like I always say, PLEASE review this and tell me what you think! Or you can even PM me if you'd like! Either way would be much appreciated. Oh! And thanks to LightTheDarkness14 for adding this to your favorites! :D

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Chapter 4

All of the students shuffled off the bus and into the large three story building. Naminé visited once with her aunt, since she had to pick up some paper work, but she didn't get the chance to explore the place like she wanted to. All she knew was that the cafeteria, the senior-only lounge, and all the offices were located on the first floor. To say she was nervous would be an understatement.

_"Ok…I guess I should stop at guidance to hand in these forms. And hopefully get a map…this place is much bigger then Destiny High." _thought the anxious blonde as she headed towards the guidance office. She had met her guidance counselor already, and he seemed like a pretty nice guy. He liked to be called by his first name, which was Terra.

"Hey Terra, I have these papers for you." Naminé said in a hushed tone as she entered his office.

"Why thank you Naminé!" He replied while filing away the forms she handed him. "Good luck on your first day here! I'm sure you'll fit in perfectly."

"I hope so," she began as she looked down at her schedule, "can you tell me where the drawing room is? That's my first class and I have no idea where to go."

"Oh of course! Just make a left and take the first staircase up one floor. Right away you'll see murals painted on the walls, just follow those until you see the room labeled 251. In fact, I think all your classes are in that section, so you'll have no problem."

Naminé let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much!" She called out from the doorway after the first bell rang. Terra smiled as she walked off into the crowd of students heading for their first classes. Naminé was so thankful that she didn't have to wander around like an idiot all day trying to figure out where to go. She was also thankful that she got to leave an hour early, since she left two open blocks at the end of her schedule.

_"Maybe this day won't be so bad_."

"I hate her. I hate her. I fucking hate her."

"Come on man, she can't be that bad. Maybe she just lost her phone. Or maybe it broke and she hasn't gotten a new one yet."

Roxas took a bite out if his chocolate-chip muffin and thought of the point Demyx was trying to make. They were both standing outside their first period drawing class finishing their food before the late-bell rang (they weren't allowed to eat in the classroom).

"No, she was ignoring them. If her phone was off or broken, then it would have gone straight to her answering machine when I called her. But it didn't."

"Oh…"

*RIIIINNGG*

"Well, that was the bell." Demyx stated before devouring the last of his blueberry muffin. He turned towards the door and pranced into the room, dragging Roxas in with him.

"Morning everybody!" greeted their teacher, Ms. Jones. "I'm glad to be the first to announce this, but if you haven't already noticed, we have a new student! Come on up here Naminé!"

The words were like thorns against his skin. There she was, the girl who made him feel insecure in every way, walking towards the front of the classroom looking like she was straight off the runway. Clearly, he wasn't the only one who thought that. There wasn't a set of eyes in the room that weren't checking her out. The guys were gawking, and the girls were desperately searching for a flaw. She took her time to look at everyone individually as she smiled. Then, her eyes met his. They held him there; he couldn't look away even if he tried. She stared at him, her bright smile fading to one of a more sad nature. To his relief, she finally broke the connection by directing her attention to Ms. Jones.

"She's already completed every level of drawing at her old school, so she'll be here to make my job easier and help you guys when you need it. In exchange, she'll be able to work in the back on her own personal projects. So nobody go back there! It's private!" Ms. Jones explained as she wrapped an arm around Naminé. It was clear that they already had a special bond. "Now," she continued, "with that said, all of you should have work to do! Whip out those projects and get to it!"

As predicted by Roxas, the rest of the class consisted of all the guys swarming around Naminé asking for her help. It was a surprise to her, since she never got that much attention back in Destiny High. But, that was mostly because if a guy would try talking to her, she would just say, "I like Riku" and they would immediately back off. Riku, knew she did this. In fact, he was the one who suggested the idea.

*RIIIINNGG*

_"Thank God this is over!" _thought Roxas as he gathered up his things. Although Naminé made no attempt to talk to him, mostly because she was busy helping people, he still felt the tension between them.

"Roxas wait!"

_"Shit." _He thought. He turned around to see the bright eyed blonde that called out for him.

"What?" he responded coldly. She felt her shoulders jerk back in surprise after his unexpected harshness.

"I just wanted to apologize for not answering your texts. Something happened, so I was really busy that whole week. I'm sorry."

She looked at him, waiting for his expression to soften, but it didn't. He continued to glare at her the same way he had been.

"What was so important that you couldn't have taken 30 seconds out of your BUSY schedule, to just shoot me a text and say 'Hey, sorry I can't talk right now. I'll text you back when I'm not busy'? You know how upset I was, just staring at my phone waiting for a response? You know, I thought you were really cool when I first met you and when we hung out at my party. I wanted to be your friend. But now, I don't want anything to do with you." Roxas spat.

Naminé stood there in shock. She couldn't believe how angry he was getting over a stupid misunderstanding.

"But Roxas, you don't understand, my-"

"I don't care," he interrupted, "I have to go now." And with that, he was off. He stalked angrily to his next class as Naminé stood in the same spot.

_"He didn't even give me a chance to explain myself! Maybe he's not who I thought he was…"_

After drawing, Naminé went to painting, ceramics, and back to the drawing room for two periods of private study with Ms. Jones. It was now the part of the day which she dreaded most; lunch. It used to be what she looked forward too, since she got to hangout with all three of her best friends. But now, she was about to wander into a giant mass of strangers, and most likely sit alone. ACTUALLY, she would prefer to sit alone. That would be perfect, so she can work on some sketches she started during her private study. What she was REALLY afraid of was a group of perverts sitting around her and trying to smooth talk their way into her pants.

_"Not gonna happen!" _she thought as she shivered with disgust. She finally arrived at the crowded cafeteria. Luckily, the lunch line wasn't actually that long. She walked up to the end of the line and waited. She heard a few guys whistle at her as she walked past some tables, but she ignored them. After waiting about five minutes, she purchased a chicken caesar salad and walked out of the line. She scoped the area, looking for an open spot where she could enjoy her lunch alone.

"Hey Naminé!" a girl called out, "Over here!" Naminé turned to where the voice came from and saw the green-eyed brunette she spoke with this morning. With her were Pence and Hayner, the two boys whom she also met this morning. She let out a sigh of relief and walked over to the trio.

"Hey Olette!" Naminé greeted as she sat beside her.

"What about us?" Pence asked, pretending to be offended.

"Hey Pence, hi Hayner." Naminé chuckled. Pence gave a look of satisfaction and Hayner laughed at his friend's quirkiness. Naminé was relieved that she was able to befriend the group. She might even end up hanging out with them outside of school. They reminded her of Kairi, Sora, and Riku, which made it easier for her to open up to them. Unfortunately, it also made her miss her best friends even more.

"Hey Naminé, do you know Roxas or something? Cause he keeps looking over here…" said Pence as he pointed to the spiky haired blonde who sat across the cafeteria. Naminé instinctively looked over at where he was pointing. Sure enough, there he was. He quickly looked away as she stared back at him.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." She responded. She then observed the raven haired girl that he sat next to. He wrapped his arm around the girl, and looked back at the blonde. Naminé just smiled her brightest smile and waved.

_"Is he really that stupid? He's making it so obvious. I know what he's trying to pull. It's not gonna work." _She thought. The trio she sat with sensed the tension between the two, and decided to ditch the topic.

"Well, anyway, if you need anyone to show you around town Naminé, just call me. We know all the fun spots to hangout." Olette spoke as she slid her a piece of paper with her number on it.

"Aww thanks guys! I might have to take you up on that offer sometime." Naminé smiled as she put the piece of paper in her pocket.

*RIIIINNGG*

Everyone got up at the same time and headed for the doors. Naminé glanced at her schedule, noting that her next class was creative writing which, according to Hayner, was somewhere on the first floor. She wondered if the guy even liked her, I mean, she was kinda breaking up their trio. But he hasn't said anything yet, which was all she needed.

"Naminé! Hey Naminé!" a voice called out from behind her as she wondered past the guidance office. She turned to see that the voice belonged to her guidance counselor, Terra. "Naminé, I'm so sorry…" he began, "I'm afraid that the creative writing class that I scheduled you into is full. It's already at the maximum capacity by school rules."

"There's a maximum capacity for classes?" Naminé questioned, not fully believing him.

"Yes, there is. It's all based on the size of the classroom itself. I know the rule is stupid, but we have to follow by it."

"They seriously can't squeeze in one more person? I'm sure the room won't explode."

"I'm really sorry, but no. It's against the school's policy. It was a stupid mistake on my part, I was looking at the attendance sheet of an open class at the time and got the two mixed up. I'm so sorry…"

"Well…where do I go then? It would have been my last class of the day."

"You could fill in the block with another elective for fun, or you could just go home now. After all, you don't need the credit."

Naminé contemplated the idea a bit. If she left the block open, that meant she didn't even need to go to lunch anymore. She could just go home after her private study with Ms. Jones. If she filled the block, she would have to stay in school for a little longer, and she'd have to stay in lunch….with Roxas. Unless, of course, she filled her lunch block with another class. But there really weren't any more classes she wanted to take. The longer she thought, the more she leaned towards her first option. That would give her more time to explore the city and focus on her art.

"I guess I'll just leave the block open." Naminé concluded.

"Alright! That works. So, I guess you can go home now if you'd like. Or if you have to take the bus home, you can hang out in the senior lounge until the end of the day, which is in four periods."

Naminé looked over at the senior lounge. It did look nice; it had cushioned benches and seats along with tables to do work at. Heck, if it had a couch she'd just chill there for a while and draw. But, to her dismay, there was the dreaded spiky haired blonde that blew her off earlier. He sat at one of the tables doing homework.

"I think I'll just go home." She decided. Terra gave her a quick good-bye and went back to his office. She thought now might be a good time to find her locker, but she didn't really feel like doing that. She was now in one of her 'I don't give a fuck' moods. She decided that now would be her time to go and explore her new surroundings. Her aunt gave her a bus pass, a subway pass, and a train pass. Getting around couldn't be any easier. She also had a debit card that had 5,000 dollars on it that will be recharged with 5,000 more every month, courtesy of her aunt as well. The possibilities were endless.

_"Maybe I'll go shopping? I could use some clothes. And maybe some art supplies." _ She thought as she made her way to the front doors. She took a quick glance over at Roxas as she walked by the senior lounge. To her surprise, he didn't even look up from his paper. He just sat there and stared intently.

_"Whatever. I can't believe I even liked that asshole. Screw him." _

Her first destination: Market Street. She knew from her friend Larxene that it was one of the most social areas in the city, packed with restaurants and stores. As she walked down the busy sidewalk, she didn't really know where to start. So far she wasn't seeing an art store, but out of the corner of her eye she spotted a blue, strapless, skin tight dress on a manikin through a shop window.

_"I have to have it!" _she thought as she nearly pressed her face against the window. She thought about it, but then the thought hit her: it was a formal dress. Meaning the only place she could wear it would be homecoming, prom, or a fancy party. None of those options applied to her life right now. She sighed in defeat, realizing there was no point in buying it if she had no place to wear it to. She turned her body, ready to move on with her day, when she saw a pair of bright blue eyes and some luscious pink hair on a manly figure standing in her way. He quickly grabbed her hand and shook it.

"Hi! I'm Marluxia." he blurted out, "I couldn't help but notice you checking out that dress. It happens to be our latest addition. It would really complement your skin tone and golden blonde hair."

"Yeah, I was looking at that dress. I really like it a lot, but unfortunately I don't plan on buying it. Not now at least…" she said as she tried to push past him. He held onto her arm before she could walk away.

"Wait!" he called, "If you could let me take some photos of you wearing the dress, and maybe a few other new winter outfits, I'll let you have it! Free of charge!" Naminé was surprised at his sudden outburst, but she wasn't ready to trust him. What if he made her get into her underwear and model bras and panties? That just wasn't her thing.

"Listen, it's not the money that's the problem. I just don't have anything to wear it to," she said sternly, ripping her arm from his grip, "and besides, I'm not the modeling type."

She once again tried to walk off, but was stopped when he ran directly in front of her, blocking her path yet again.

"NO PLEASE WAIT! Will you just consider my offer? If you can't do it now you can come back another time! I just really need somebody to model for our winter catalog!"

"Believe me, there are PLENTY of girls who would love to model for your catalog, for FREE. Heck, they'd probably even pay YOU to let them be in your catalog. Seriously."

"I know, I know. I've already done a few auditions with girls from around the area, but none of them really stood out to me. But YOU! You really stand out to me! You have a very unique hairstyle that's edgy, yet cute at the same time. It's like you're a combination deal; I could totally make you look like a bad girl in one photo, and then a cute innocent girl in the next! And from the looks of it, you have a great figure, specifically your hips; they would look perfect in that dress, and my many other outfits. Plus, you have flawless skin for close-ups. Please, if you would just consider my offer, I'll give you that dress for free, and even a pair of matching earrings! Or a purse! Or anything for that matter! PLEASE! I'm begging you!" he pleaded. He got on his knees and grabbed both of Naminé's hands in his. The blonde looked around at the many people staring. He DID make her blush like mad with all his compliments. She thought about it, then came up with an answer.

"So, you'll give me the dress for free?"

"Yes!"

"And all I have to do is pose for a few photos?"

"YES!"

"And you WON'T make me get in my underwear?"

"Of course not!"

"Fine…I'll do it…"

"WEEEEEE! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

He sprung up and hugged the girl, spinning her around in circles as he held onto her.

"Let's just get this over with…" she spoke.

"Come on in! I promise you'll have so much fun!"

"Oh! Look at that one! That one's a really nice one! Oh, and that one! Oh, and check out THAT one!" Marluxia gawked as he flipped through the photos on his camera. Naminé had to admit, she had a LOT more fun doing this photo-shoot then she originally thought. Actually, she thought it would be pure torture. But, she was proved wrong when she realized that modeling was its own type of art. Plus, Marluxia really made it fun. He had pictures of her building a snowman out of fake snow, sitting under a tower she made out of Christmas gifts, and her personal favorite, her holding mistletoe over his nephew, Zexion, and kissing his cheek while he stood there blushing as red as Rudolf's nose.

"Marluxia, I must say I had a good time…but I have to get going now." Naminé sighed. She threw on her jacket and put her backpack on over it.

"Ok…" he said sadly, "Wait! Don't you want the dress?"

She looked over at the silky smooth texture of the dress that she admired so much.

"How about I pick it up tomorrow? I don't feel like carrying it around. It might get dirty or ripped."

"We wouldn't want that! Of course you can pick it up tomorrow. Just drop by anytime you want and I'll be here." He smiled. They said their goodbyes and she walked out the door into the cold afternoon. She checked the time.

_"4:22…I was seriously there for four hours? Unbelievable…" _

She wandered the streets not knowing what was on her agenda. She didn't really feel like being out in the cold exploring, but she also didn't want to go back to her aunt's house. She wished she could just walk over to Kairi's house like she used to. Naminé would always help her with her math homework, since Kairi hated math and Naminé was a whiz at that stuff. Math and science were her strong points, along with anything to do with reading and writing. History was her weak point. This is mainly because the class would spark so many ideas for drawings, which would cause her to draw on her notebook the whole class instead of paying attention.

"Excuse me pretty lady, but you look lost. Need any help?"

Naminé stopped dead in her tracks. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice that she was walking through one of the bad areas in town. It looked like she was in an alleyway of some sort, except wider and had people lurking around aimlessly. The smell of cigarettes filled her nostrils. She looked over at where the voice came from and saw a guy a little bit older then her. He took a drag from his cigarette and blew out the smoke before taking a few steps closer.

"Listen," he said in a rough voice, "I'm not here to hurt you or anything. But you do look a bit out of place. The name is Seifer." He held out his hand. It looked beat-up and dry, but she took it anyway. She didn't want him to know that she was afraid.

"I'm Naminé. And to answer your question, no. I'm not lost." she said with a bit of an attitude. She gave him a playful smile; just in case he took her tone the wrong way. To her relief, he chuckled.

"Heh, well my bad, missy. I'll let you get on with your business…unless, of course, you want to hang out with me and my friends for a little while. But, it's up to you. You look like a busy girl, so if you're not up for it, that's ok too."

Naminé raised a brow at him. She was bored out of her mind, and he was pretty convincing. Her thoughts kept on going back to when Roxas put his arm around Xion just to spite her.  
It made her mad, and she tended to make stupid decisions when she was mad.

"I've got nothing better to do." She concluded.

"Cool. Just follow me then, I'll show you where kids like me hangout."

_"Kids like him, huh? What exactly is this guy up to…"_

She followed him into another alleyway, and eventually into an old, scummy apartment. The place smelt bad, but it wasn't unbearable. He then led her into what looked like a living room with a girl and a guy sitting at a round table.

"This is Waka and Fuu. Guys, this is Naminé. She said she had nothing better to do, so I figured she can join in on the celebration." He smirked. Naminé smiled at both of them; the guy, Waka, winked at her, while the girl, Fuu, glared. Instead of saying anything to the girl, she decided to drop it. Her silver hair and red eyes were a bit intimidating. She was also in 'uncharted territory'. ANYTHING could happen.

"So Naminé…do you use?" Seifer asked, pointing at the table. Naminé looked at where he pointed. She saw white blocks piled on top of each other, and a few lines of white powder. She had never seen cocaine before, but she guessed that's what it was. Either that or some really crappy heroin. She knew from her brother that the better heroin was, the darker it was.

"No," she finally responded, "I don't."

"Can't say I'm surprised. I'll tell you what, how about you watch us show you how it's done, and then you can decide if you want to do it or not." he reasoned. She sat down next to him at the round table, taking in the scent of the foreign substance. She felt an adrenaline rush when she saw Waka take a rolled up piece of paper and snort an entire line of the substance. It was her first time witnessing something so…illegal. The most she did was drink, and she knew that was against the law. But THIS, this was something else.

Eventually both Seifer and Fuu did the same thing, leaving one line left for her. She watched everyone's expressions change from harsh, to euphoric. Even Fuu was smiling and talking in a matter of minutes. They seemed to be having an intellectual conversation about politics. Each of them called the mayor of Twilight Town a 'bag-a-dicks' while they each gave a reason why, and how much better the town would be if he made a few simple changes. They were actually a lot smarter then she thought. It was interesting to Naminé, and she wanted to be a part of the conversation too.

"So what do you think Naminé? You wanna give it a whirl? I won't charge you or anything." Seifer stated while holding out a rolled up piece of paper.

_"Why not? It looks like a good time. It's not like I have a family to go home to." _she thought. She grabbed the paper out of Seifer's hands.

"Yeah, I'll give it a try." She said, lining the roll up with the line of powder. "So I just do this?" She asked, plugging up one nostril.

"Yep. Just snort it up as you go down the line."

"Will it burn?" she asked. She wanted to be prepared for whatever pain she was about to go through.

"Nah, this is the high quality shit. It won't hurt. It only hurts when they mix it with a bunch of other shit to get more money out of it."

She took in a deep breath and did as he said, taking in the whole line of powder into her sinuses. She held her finger against the bottom her nose and tilted her head back, making sure it wouldn't come pouring back out.

_"Holy…shit…" _


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I've been kinda busy :/ school is right around the corner and I still have to do my summer homework D: so updating might take a little longer then usual :( But I promise I'll try my best to update as fast as possible! And I'm sorry this chapter is a little shorted then the rest, but I was kinda rushing to try and get this out as soon as I could...so here it is! Enjoy ;)

Oh and thank you so much to all of you who have favorited, reviewed, and "followed" this story! It means so much to me! Hopefully I'll have the time to message you guys so I can thank you personally :D But, if any of you happen to be reading this, THANK YOU!

Oh and let me know if anything sounds weird, because I might have made a mistake, or sometimes when I copy and paste this into the Doc Manager, it leaves out some words here and there...so lemme know!

Oh, and I changed the rating for this to rated M because of the cursing, drugs, and possible sexual themes? :0

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Chapter 5

It had been one month since that night. It became a habit of Naminé's to visit Seifer and his gang once a week to satisfy her body's growing craving for the drug. Her head kept telling her to stop, but eventually she'd find herself wandering through the alley looking for him. She learned the cocaine was stolen, which was why Seifer didn't charge her NEARLY as much as the normal street cost would be. He even offered to let her have it for free, in exchange for 'sexual favors' as he called it. She denied him that, of course, and told him she'd pay for it in cash. Naminé hated to admit it, but she was using cocaine as a coping method. Whenever she missed her old way of life, she felt like crying. But then she would remember her promise to her brother, and to prevent herself from being upset, she would go to Seifer's apartment looking for a quick fix.

"Roxas? Sora's here!" Roxas' mother called from the bottom of the stairs. Roxas was inspecting his appearance in the mirror. He was wearing a white button down shirt with black pants. It was Christmas Eve and he was having a family dinner with Sora's family, like they did every year.

"Sup man! Long time, no see! How've you been?" Sora greeted as he entered the room.

"Not bad man. So…you wanna play some Xbox before dinner?"

"Well, actually, I hoping I could talk to you. It's about Naminé…" Sora then sat on Roxas' bed before continuing, "Kairi told me she's worried about her. Apparently, Naminé's been making up lame excuses of why she can't hangout with us. And the one time Kairi finally went over to her house, she noticed that she had lost weight. And that's not healthy, considering she was already really skinny. Kairi thinks she's depressed. Like, the actual medical definition of depressed, not the over-used term. So, I guess my question for you is, have you seen her around lately? Does she seem a bit, out of it?"

Roxas fondled with his black and white checkered bracelet as he sat down beside Sora.

"Well," the blonde began, "Let's just say, we're not friends. She never answered any of my texts after my party, so I figured she was just one of those girls who like leading guys on just to mess with them. I guess I took it kinda hard, but I mean, she was wrong for not even sending me a quick text to let me know that she was too busy to talk to me. It had me really upset, you know?"

Sora simply stared at him with his mouth wide open.

"Roxas, did she tell you why she never answered you? Or why she's suddenly in Twilight Town?"

"No…well, I guess she might have tried to tell me…but I, uh, well I had to go to my next class. So…ummm, yeah. She never told me." He lied.

"Her parents got into a car accident the night of the football game…" he took a deep breath before continuing, "they both died. She had to pack up all her things and move here with her Aunt, who, according to Kairi, is barely ever home. Her brother came back from overseas for the funeral, but left that same night. She's been going through HELL, Roxas. Now please, PLEASE, don't tell me you've been avoiding her because you though she was a snobby brat for not answering you texts! PLEASE, don't tell me that."

Little did Sora know, it was worse. He wasn't just avoiding the girl; he was going around and telling people she was a bitch. Of course, they didn't listen because they thought she was hot, but he still was trying his best to get revenge.

Roxas was shocked by Sora's words. He slapped his forehead a couple times and grunted in frustration.

"Sora, I'm such an asshole. You know that? I'm really the biggest douche-bag in all of douche-bag history. They should tie me to a flagpole by my underwear, and throw rotten tomatoes at me. I should just-"

"Roxas, come on. Whatever you did, it couldn't have been that bad." Sora interrupted. Roxas dead-panned at his oblivious cousin.

"I've literally been the BIGGEST asshole to her the entire month that she's been at my school. I feel like a complete dick. This is horrible…" Roxas said. He buried his head into his hands. He couldn't believe that he was too stubborn to even THINK that she really just had a lot going on that week, and couldn't respond to him. Now, he realized that he had been treating her like dirt in the most tragic time of her life.

"Wow…you really are an asshole. BUT, you are my cousin, and I know you well enough to know that you'll make things right. In fact, you BETTER make things right. Or I'll have to beat the shit out of you. And so will Kairi. Mostly Kairi." Sora said, half joking and half serious. Roxas nodded at the brunette.

"You're right. She might not listen to me though…" Roxas sighed. Sora gave him a pat on the back.

"Nah, I know Naminé. She's quick to forgive. As long as you're sincere about it, she'll forgive you. I promise that. It might take her a while to trust you, but she'll give you a chance."

"I hope so…" Roxas muttered. They heard Sora's mom calling their names from downstairs, which meant dinner was done. They both headed down the steps, with Sora thinking about how good the food smelt, and Roxas thinking of ways he could make up for his mistakes.

Naminé laid on her king-sized bed staring at the ceiling. It was New Year's Eve, and she was supposed to be going over to Sora's for a giant party he threw every year since they were kids. She knew she had to go, because if she didn't, Kairi would definitely expect that something's wrong. She sighed in defeat, realizing she had to soon get up and make herself look presentable.

_"Luckily I put on a little weight over the break…being at Grandpa's house for a few days really helped out." _she thought, looking at her reflection. Grandpa Fair always fed Naminé and her cousins like they were starving children. They always laughed at him because he would go out and buy every flavor of ice cream he could find at the store just to make them all happy.

Naminé put on a pair of skinny jeans, an emerald green hoodie, and her favorite black boots. It wasn't anything special, but she still looked cute. After brushing threw her long blonde hair, she ruffled it around a bit to give it some life.

_"Well, here we go. My first real social event since the incident. It can't be that bad, right?"_ she thought. She wiped her nervous hands on her jeans and grabbed her car keys. After one last comforting breath, she turned out the lights and headed for the back door.

"NAMINÉ! Get over here and give me a hug!" Sora demanded as he approached the newly arrived blonde.

"Sora! I missed you!" she confessed as she squeezed him tight.

"I missed you too! Unfortunately, Riku couldn't make it tonight. He went on vacation…what a loser! He's missing out!"

Naminé laughed at Sora's indescribable facial expressions. She appreciated his talent of making her smile at any given time. He was a real charmer.

"But," he continued, "There is somebody here who wants to talk to you…"

Naminé's smile faded as she gave him a puzzled look. He pointed towards the doorway where the living room connected to the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder and saw a tall, manly figure. She squinted a bit, but then quickly realized who it was when the guy took a single step forward. It was Roxas.

"Hi," he paused before saying her name, "Naminé."

Her heart skipped a beat.

_"What is he doing here? I thought he hated me? He HAD to have known that I was coming, right?!" _

She looked around the room, and quickly realized that it was only the two of them. Sora had managed to sneak downstairs while she stared at Roxas in astonishment.

"I know you're probably not thrilled to see me, but, I'd really appreciate it if you would give me a chance to explain something to you…" he said as he took a few more slow steps towards her. She couldn't find the words to say. He took her silence as a chance to comntinue, "I just want to say, I'm really, REALLY sorry about what I said to you. It was unfair of me to assume things before I really knew your side of the situation. I was acting really immature, and stupid, and-"

"Stubborn. Thoughtless. Inconsiderate. " she added in. He looked at her, taken back by her comment.

"Yes. Those too." he continued, "But most importantly, I was just being insecure. When you didn't answer me, I started getting anxious because I thought you didn't like me. I started to think that I might not be good enough for you. And to be honest, I thought we had something. I was ready to break-up with Xion the moment you gave me a sign that you were interested in being anything more than friends. But after a while of no response, I thought you just played me for a fool. I felt like a complete idiot, and of course, I got really mad. At you, and myself. But now I know I was wrong, and I feel completely horrible about what I've done to you especially because of what really happened…"

Roxas stared shamefully at the ground while Naminé showed no sign of emotion.

"Did Sora tell you?" Naminé asked, "Did he tell you what happened that night?"

Roxas nodded. Although Naminé wanted to scream in his face and storm out the door, something held her back. She could see the sincerity in his eyes and hear it in his voice. She knew that he was aware of his mistake and regrets ever treating her the way he did. Plus, she can almost relate to how he must have felt when he didn't get a single response from her.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, he looked up to see her smiling and shaking her head.

"Well…" she chuckled, "I guess you're not that bad after all. It's a shame you'd listen to Sora, and not me…but anyway, I respect the fact that you actually apologized. And as long as you're TRULY sorry, I forgive you."

She tried to hold back a smile, but the look on his face was priceless. His mouth was slightly open as he stared at her in shock. But then he gave her a cheeky grin that she'd only ever seen on Sora.

"Wow…any other person would have slapped me right across the fa-" Roxas was then silenced by a hard slap against his cheek. "OW!"

"THAT was for being a dick." she paused for a second, than hugged him gently, "And this is for owning up to your mistake." He was shocked for a second, but then hugged her back. "Now let's go downstairs. The party is waiting." She grinned as she walked towards the staircase. He followed her, and e began to get the feeling that tonight wouldn't be so bad after all.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Kairi ran over and hugged Naminé, nearly knocking the blonde off her feet.

"Hey Kairi, nice to see you too." she laughed. Kairi was beaming with happiness.

"I'm sorry, but I barely see you and I miss you! You're my best friend." pouted the red-head.

"Well, I'm here now, right?" Naminé said, trying to cheer up her friend.

"Yeah. I guess. Now come on! We're gonna play twister!" Kairi said. She practically dragged Naminé over to the twister mat where Sora was standing along with Roxas's friend, Axel. Naminé recognized him as the spiky red-head who she beat in beer pong.

"I call spinner!" Axel proclaimed as he picked up the spinner from the floor.

"No way man! I want to be the spinner!" Roxas argued. Roxas liked being the observer in games like this. Mostly because he didn't want his head next to somebody else's butt.

"Nope. I already called it." Axel said. Naminé, Kairi, and Sora already had their shoes off and were ready to start.

"Fine." Roxas sighed in defeat. He took off his shoes and joined the rest of the players around the mat.

"Hey, how about we make this a little interesting." Kairi said with a mischievous grin.

"I'm listening." Naminé replied, already knowing what Kairi was up to.

"How about, loser has to eat dirt!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Hmmm…I was thinking more along the lines of, loser has to run around the house outside naked..." Naminé suggested.

"Woah woah woah! Hold on there, Nami. How about in their underwear? Naked is a little…well, you know!" Sora compromised.

"Fair enough." Naminé said as Kairi nodded in agreement.

"Am I the only one who doesn't think this is a good idea?" Roxas complained. Sora, Kairi, and Naminé all looked at each other.

"Yeah, looks like it." Naminé replied. Roxas sighed as he realized he was outnumbered.

"Don't worry, Roxas, nobody's gonna see your pee-pee when you lose." Axel teased. Roxas shoved him and rolled his eyes.

"Well I know Naminé won't have to worry. She never loses this game. She's REALLY flexible!" Kairi stated. She immediately regretted saying this in front of a crowd of perverted teenage-guy minds. They all stared at Kairi, and then at Naminé who was blushing red.

"Uhh, let's just get started, shall we?" Kairi said, trying to divert their attention.

"Yeah…"

"Right hand, RED!" Axel smirked.

"OH COME ON!" Roxas wailed. He was already invading Naminé's personal space, but THIS would cause him to be completely on top of her, with his groin dangerously close to her butt.

"You have to do it Roxas! Unless you'd rather run around the house in just your boxers!" said Sora, who was basically tangled together with Kairi. Roxas groaned, but then hesitantly reached over Naminé to put his right hand on the available red spot. They all laughed hysterically as he had to put his entire front half against her back. Although Naminé laughed, she was also a little flustered by the close contact. In the midst of the laughter, there was a loud thud. It was Naminé, with Roxas on top of her.

"Hey! No fair! You fell on me!" Naminé blurted out. There was no way she was going to run around the house in only her bra and underwear in the freezing cold.

"Yeah but you fell first…" Sora countered. He quickly backed down after she shot him an icy glare.

"Fine. You both have to do it!" Kairi stated.

"NO!" said Roxas and Naminé simultaneously.

"Come on guys, a bet is a bet. Somebody's got to do it." Axel chimed in.

Roxas looked at Naminé, who gave him a look and said, "You owe me."

Roxas knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Fine…I'll do it…"

"Lookin good Roxy!"

"Shut-up Axel!"

They all stood in front of the front door, with Roxas in only his boxers. They decided to make him wait until exactly midnight to run out the door and do his lap around the house. To Roxas's dismay, it had snowed while they were all inside. This meant there was a thin layer of slippery white powder coating the ground, making it harder for him to run.

"I can't believe you're actually doing this…" Naminé said in disbelieve. She tried so hard to look at his face when she spoke to him, but his washboard abs were making it extremely difficult. He took notice of this, which gave him a slight confidence boost, considering HE was usually the one who was gawking over HER. Sora glanced down at his watch and then began the countdown.

"5…4…3…2…1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" they all screamed. Roxas then flew out the door and sprinted around the house, being careful not to fall. The rest of the gang stood outside in the front lawn and laughed. Luckily, he was a pretty fast sprinter and got back to the front of the house in about 30 seconds.

"Holy shit it's COLD!" he shrieked as he jogged in place. Sora was the first to gain back his composure, while the rest of them continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"Come on man, let's get you inside." He said, laughing in between words.

As Naminé reached the last step leading up to the door, she felt her foot slide out from under her, causing her to fall backwards. She squeezed her eyes shut, and tried to put out her hands to break her fall. Suddenly, she felt arms wrapped around her and quickly pull her into an embrace. She opened her eyes to see another pair staring back at her, only inches from her face. They belonged to Roxas, and right now he was holding her against his bare chest.

"You ok?" he asked as he brought her to her feet. She quickly fixed her hair and tried to get her mouth to form words.

"Yeah, uh, I guess I slipped." She managed to mutter out. She giggled at her own clumsiness, which he found cute.

"Well, good thing I have fast reflexes," he chuckled, "Come on, I  
better get inside before I get frostbite."

"Yeah, good idea."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! GAHHH PLEASE FORGIVE ME! D: I started school a couple weeks ago so things have been kinda crazy! I hope you guys didn't think that I gave up on the story! I also have a job right now, which takes up some of my spare time, and I'll probably be starting a second job soon! But I promise that I'll try my best to keep updating this as fast as possible! Thanks to everyone reading this story, it really means a LOT! Make sure to review and tell me about any mistakes I made (didn't spend a lot of time prove-reading this one!)

Love you guys! :D

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Chapter 6

"Hair? Check. Make-up? Check. Art project?" Naminé thought aloud as she eyed the room for her almost finished painting. "There you are!" She grabbed the colorful canvas that was resting against the wall and headed out of her room. She thought about driving to school, since her it would be difficult to get on and off the bus with her painting, but the roads were covered in dangerous slush. She went up the elevator and went towards the front door. She couldn't cut through the back of the house like she usually did because there was at least a foot of snow out there.

_"Guess I have to take the long way."_ She thought as she walked carefully down the extensive driveway. When she finally reached the bottom, she realized it had taken her longer then she thought. _"Hopefully the bus will be running late. I mean, the bus can't go THAT fast with all this snow, right?" _

"Hey!" she heard somebody callout. She turned to see a black Ford f150 and a spiky haired blonde in the driver's seat. "Need a ride?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

"Well…yeah, but would Xion get mad?" she said. She observed Roxas look down at the steering wheel and shake his head slowly. "Oh! I'm sorry…I just-"

"Nah, you didn't say anything wrong. Xion and I got into a fight a couple days ago. I don't exactly know what's going on to be honest." He turned back to Naminé and smiled, "So who cares if she gets mad, right?" He laughed a bit as he nudged his head towards the passenger seat. "Come on, just get in. Pleeeease?"

"Fine." Naminé sighed sarcastically. She walked around and hopped into the front seat, closing the heavy door behind her. She touched a few buttons on the CD/radio player and slowly rubbed the leather seats. She stopped when she noticed Roxas staring at her with a confused look. "What?" she asked obliviously.

"Uhhh, you're petting my car?" he said as he put the car in drive.

"Oh, haha, yeah. This is kinda my dream car, except for the fact that it's black, not silver. If I had a Ford f150 I'd get it in silver." She explained as she observed all the features.

"Hm. Interesting." Roxas said.

_"She likes trucks? Specifically, MY truck? Sweet."_

"So, you're painting mountains?"

"Not just mountains, Demyx, mountains AND a starry night sky. In fact, the sky is supposed to be the focal point of the entire painting. Specifically the constellation Andromeda." Naminé said as she observed a few people's drawings. It was now first period; Naminé was walking around answering questions and helping some of her peers with their drawings. She was happy that the girls were being a lot nicer to her compared to her first couple weeks. A few of them were beginning to invite her to parties and sporting events, although Naminé usually declined because those girls were always the stuck-up brats who looked for pretty faces to join their posse.

"Oh…cool! I love stars! In fact, I'm gonna be a star one day. You just wait, I'll be rocking out on stage with my band and the crowd roaring 'DEMYX! WE LOVE YOU!' then I'll go backstage and have my personal assistants rubbing my feet and doing whatever I say…" Demyx was now standing up with his fist held dramatically in the air.

"Yeah, that'll be the day." Roxas remarked sarcastically. Roxas and Demyx sat at a table with Naminé who was giving them pointers on their drawing techniques. Roxas worked on an accurate sketch of the Twilight Town clock tower, and Demyx worked on an abstract piece inspired by his beloved sitar.

"Roxas, just because you never made it big, doesn't mean that I won't!" Demyx retorted. Naminé looked at Roxas with her eyes wide and eyebrows up. Roxas just smiled at the ground and shook his head.

"Demyx, you had to bring that up? Music was just a hobby! Nothing more!"

"Admit it! You wouldn't be where you are today if you hadn't gone on stage at the talent show last year. After that, all the ladies swarmed over you like flies on garbage!"

"Demyx, would you please SHUTUP!"

"But it's TRUE!"

Naminé's eyes darted back and forth from one blonde to the next, the look of shock on her face never residing.

"Demyx, I can't say I agree with you. I'm exactly the same as I was BEFORE that night."

"Yeah, you may be the same, but Xion's not. And you KNOW that's a fact."

Roxas let out a heavy sigh and glanced at the clock.

*RIIIINNGG*

He quickly threw his drawing on a rack over to the side of the room and walked out of the room, Demyx tried to call after him but he was already out of sight.

"What was that all about?" Naminé asked with concern.

"Oh, well he doesn't really like talking about Xion. Or the talent show."

"Why not? I mean, I know he doesn't always get along with her, but if they've been dating since last year then she can't be that bad, right?"

"Oh she is. But she wasn't ALWAYS like the way she is today. Basically, Xion and Roxas became friends when they were both losers. Like I said, when Roxas sang and played guitar at the talent show, every girl in the school suddenly thought he was the hottest guy ever to walk these halls. But, Roxas hated the attention he was getting, mainly because none of those girls had never said a word to him or even glanced in his direction before that night. They used to think that he was just a quiet skater kid who hungout with the quite black haired girl and a bunch of guys older than him. But AFTER they heard him sing, play guitar, and saw him dressed up in a nice button down shirt, they found him ridiculously attractive. He knew the only way to get all these girls to back off was to get into a relationship. Of course, he found out Xion liked him, and if there was one girl he could tolerate being his girlfriend it was definitely her. So he asked her out, and she said yes. BAM! No more girls swarming him. Well, I mean, they still all have the hots for him, but they didn't constantly throw themselves at him."

"So…I don't get it. What caused Xion to change? When I met her she was the sweetest thing. Now, well she's still nice, but she's just so…obnoxious."

"Good question. She used to be really nice. She was very similar to you, except you're a little more sociable. But she WAS really cool. After she started dating Roxas, all the girls started to notice her. They all wanted to be her friend since Roxas was popular, and if they couldn't talk to him personally, they could at least get all the details about him from his girlfriend. Plus, if they ever broke-up, then they would know all his interests and be able to fake their way into his heart. But basically, when you hangout with people for too long, you begin to act more and more like them. So that's what happened to her. She was so excited that she had girlfriends that she hungout with them WAY too much. Naturally, she began to become more and more like them. Snobby, stuck-up, and like you said, obnoxious."

"Well then why don't they just breakup? If he's not happy, then why is it worth it? Plus, maybe all those girls will ditch Xion and she'll go back to the way she was. In my eyes it's a win-win situation for the two of them. They could go back to being best friends."

"That's what I keep telling him. But the way he sees it, if they breakup she'll either make him the most hated guy in school and he'll never get the old Xion back, or she'll become a complete loner who hates him and he'll be swarmed by annoying girls. He doesn't want either of those things to happen."

"Oh…I see what you mean. I'm guessing the main problem is that he doesn't want Xion to hate him. But, she couldn't have changed completely. If there's a way they could both just sit down and talk, maybe they can fix their relationship. The way I see it, if they do that then they can either stay together or just be friends, but either way they'll at least enjoy each other's company like the way they used to."

"Hm, that's exactly what needs to happen. But the problem is, how? I doubt Roxas would give anyone the time of day if they try talking to him about Xion. And if nobody tells him what he has to do, he'll never do it. He basically thinks the only way out is to go along with it until we're out of high school. Graduation isn't THAT far away, but still. I don't think he'll last another couple months of this. He might just drop out and work for his father's landscaping company full-time. He already works for him part time."

"Maybe I can talk to Xion instead. I bet she misses how things used to be between them, but she just doesn't realize it yet. It'll take some time to gain her trust but I'm sure I can get through to her someday."

"Well good luck with that. I'm not sure anyone can get her back to normal. It's just the way high school is; all the girls are bitchy and annoying." Naminé shot him an icy glare. "Well except you! You're great! You're like, the nicest girl in this school! And the coolest! And-" Naminé's laugh cut him off from finishing his plead.

"Yeah, I get that vibe. My old school was a lot smaller than this one so the bitchy girls were highly outnumbered. In fact, the most popular girls weren't usually the prettiest girls. The popular girls were the ones who were outgoing and fun to talk to. They were the girls that everybody liked because they were so nice to everyone."

"I wish that's how it worked here. At this school, if you're pretty, you're popular. You of course, must have noticed that already." He nudged his head in the direction of a group of girls who, as they passed by, waved and greeted Naminé with smiles on their faces.

Naminé looked at them with confusion but waved and forced a smile. She then quickly remembered how much more attention she was getting from girls lately.

"It's probably because they know I'm friends with Roxas now. They weren't like this before when we hated each other."

"Hmm…could be, but I think it's because they've watched you for long enough. Now they're beginning to start phase two of their plan, which is to be really nice to you. Next thing you know they'll be trying to drag you into becoming one of them. Trust me, it happens all the time."

"But WHY?! Not only is that creepy, but it makes no sense. I know what these girls are doing, but I really don't understand WHY they're doing it. What's the point?"

"I don't know. It's crazy, right?"

_"Ok, school is FINALLY over. Now I can drop by Seifer's for a quick visit, and then go home. And I WON'T come back again. Today is the LAST day I'm doing that! Then I'm off the stuff for good. It's really starting to take a toll on me…" _Naminé thought as she rushed for the door. She was feeling strong symptoms of withdrawal and was worried that people would notice. She felt her heart racing, her forehead sweating, and she just couldn't wait to make it all stop.

"Hey!"

Naminé turned to see Roxas walking towards her.

_"Shoot! I was almost out of here! Alright play it cool…just act normal…" _

"Hey." she replied. She noticed he was wearing a black winter coat and dangled his car keys in his hands.

"Where are you going?" he asked casually.

"Home. Well, I have to go to a few things first, but then I'm going home. How about you? I see you have your jacket on."

"Home."

"Wait…don't you have class? I've never seen you go home early before."

"Nope. I usually wait in the senior area for the rest of the day until Xion gets out, but there's no point in doing that if we're in a fight. She'll just have to take the bus home today." He let out a slight chuckle and opened the door for her. They both stepped outside into the frigid winter air.

"Ooooh. So she doesn't drive herself to school?" Naminé asked as they walked through the parking lot. She was hoping to get some more information about Xion. She was surprised when she looked up and saw him laughing and shaking his head.

"Xion, DRIVING?! That's hilarious! She's failed her test 3 times already! After the third time they told her to come back in a year when she's ready. She's probably the worst driver in town, and we have a LOT of bad drivers in this town."

"HA! That's like Kairi! But she passed her test the second time she took it. Every time she drives me somewhere I say a prayer before I get in the car. It's literally TERRIFYING. I fear for my life! That's why Sora usually drives us everywhere."

"Don't tell me your one of those drivers too! Cause I've never seen you driving around before."

"Of course NOT! I'm a good driver! My dad made sure of that! He was always a great driver so he wanted me to be like him…" Naminé felt her mind wandering to her parents and quickly tried to distract herself, "So, yeah. I just don't drive to school because I know I'll be on time if I take the bus. You know, sine I have to be at the bus-stop by a certain time. Buut if I drove to school, I wouldn't have to leave until a little bit later. But the problem is if I know I have extra time in the mornings, I'll just end up sleeping in all the time."

"Oh, I get it. So you like to sleep in, huh?"

"You got that right."

They finally approached his car and he opened up the passenger door for her.

"See? I'm a gentleman." he said with pride.

"Oh really?" she said getting in. He closed the door for her and went around the car to his side. "Well aren't you special." She said as he got in.

"Why yes I am. Well, mostly because Xion told me to open the door for her in front of all her friends. It just became a habit after that, since she's ALWAYS with her friends." He paused for a second as he backed out of his parking space, and then continued, "But anyway, where am I taking you?"

"Uhhhh…" Naminé thought of where she could go that didn't sound suspicious. She then thought of Marluxia's store and how she could probably just have him drop her off there. "29th street. Do you mind going into the city? If you do I could just take the tram or something. That's what I usually do."

"I don't mind. It'll give me something to do."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They finally arrived at 29th street in front of Marluxia's store. In the window was a giant poster of Naminé modeling a navy blue jacket and a pair of skinny jeans with fuzzy winter boots. She explained to Roxas on the way over that she was friends with the owner and modeled for him occasionally.

"Wow…this place is one of those expensive designer stores. Xion and her friends go here all the time." Roxas stared in amazement at the giant poster with Naminé blowing snow out of her hands. It was weird seeing her in the picture, then looking over and seeing the same person in his car looking at him.

"Yeah, I don't really shop here. I don't like to pay ridiculous amounts of money on clothes. It's not my thing."

"It's Xion's thing. I guess the more expensive your clothes are the more compliments you'll get. I think it's stupid, too."

"It is. Well, I got to go talk to the owner about some stuff, so I have to go. Thanks for the ride! I really appreciate it." She said as she got out of the car.

"Anytime. See ya!"

"Bye!" She closed the door behind her and waved as he drove away. She went into the store and wandered around for a couple minutes, making sure he was long gone. Once it was safe she walked out of the shop and headed down the street. As she walked she thought about how she didn't feel any of the withdrawal symptoms when she was in the car with Roxas. It's like the conversation made them go away, and now when she was alone they were back.

_"Ugh. I really hope I can get out of this mess before anyone finds out, and before I really start hurting myself. From here, it can only get worse. It needs to stop."_

Roxas drove around 29th street, looking for a certain sapphire-eyed blonde roaming around. It had been a little over two hours since he dropped her off. He was worried about her since a cute defenseless girl is a prime target for weirdos in this city.

_"Maybe she's still in the store? She could have had some modeling thing to do. IT might not be too late to find her and give her a ride home." _He thought.

It was then he saw her sitting on a bench waiting for a bus. She held a hand over her mouth and the other rested in her lap. He wondered why she looked that way; it didn't look like a normal position to be in. He pulled the car into a parallel parking spot on the side of the road and approached her. When he got closer, he noticed she was crying.

"Naminé?! What happened?" he questioned as he sat beside her. She looked at him with her eyes bloodshot and filled with tears. She only looked for a few seconds before she looked down in shame, uncovering her mouth and revealing a stream of blood running from her lip.

"I was so stupid Roxas. It's all my fault! I can't believe myself!" she choked out. He carefully wiped away some of the blood and examined the damage.

"It looks like your bleeding from a cut here on your bottom lip and from your gums. Your teeth are fine though. Now tell me, who did this to you? You obviously didn't do this to yourself."

"It was my fault! I was being stupid!"

"Naminé, who did this?"

"I don't know…I just, I don't know! I can't tell you!"

He grabbed one of her shoulders with one hand and turned her face towards his with the other. She tried not to look at him, but his gentle hand never let her turn away. He held her eyes with his gaze.

"Naminé, please. Just listen to me. Who did this to you? I need to know. Please, tell me."

"…Seifer. Seifer did this to me. But-"

"Damn that fucking scumbag! I will beat the absolute shit out of that bastard!"

"But Roxas! It was my fault!"

"No, Naminé I can tell you right now that it wasn't. Now get in the car, and I'll take you home."


End file.
